#once I graduate holy shit I hope I can write again

[elementary-my-dear-daddy]

Earning Your Keep

Analogical (Virgil & Logan)

This story will be a series for the sugar daddy idea i've had running around in my head for some time now lmao. I really hope you guys like it since I enjoy writing it :)

Read it on AO3!

Virgil likes to take care of those he holds close, and maybe also a stranger that offered him a ride home.

Virgil was never rich. His family was big and his parents couldn’t make very many ends meet for most of his life, leading him to work his way through school. Once he graduated with a bachelors in psychology, he picked up two jobs to start paying off his loans, one in retail which drove his mental health into the ground, and the other as a behavioral health tech at a rehab center, which only had night-shift positions open and kept him up all night. He was paid and treated like shit, and on the cusp of breaking down when he got extremely lucky. For his 27th birthday he got the usual card with a cheesy message from his grandparents, but instead of the typical twenty bucks or a gift card, he found a lottery ticket sitting neatly inside. He didn’t think much of it, handing it over to the convenience store clerk when he was picking up an energy drink before his next shift.

“I don’t think this is worth anything, but if it has anything on it can I just use it to pay for this?” Virgil put his drink on the counter while the clerk scanned the ticket.

“Woah, woah. Oh my god.” 

“What?”

“Dude, you just won.”

“Huh?” Virgil knit his brow in confusion. He glanced over at the cashier’s screen, noticing the rather large number it displayed.

“Yeah, you won the jackpot! It’s over like 200 million! Holy shit! Here, sign it and take it to a lawyer!” The person handed him back the slip of paper and a pen. Virgil’s brain had short-circuited, causing him to just follow instructions. He didn’t really understand what was happening, so he just took the ticket back and walked out and back to his car, driving straight home and immediately typing ‘what to do if you win the lottery’ into his computer.

A bunch of results came up saying a bunch of stuff- tax experts, lawyers, and a bunch of steps that caused Virgil to lay down on his bed and rock back and forth for a little while. He didn’t believe this was happening to him. Maybe it wasn’t real? This was just a nightmare right? A really good bad nightmare.

All the things he saw online said not to tell anyone, but he couldn’t just sit there not making a decision. He picked up the phone and dialed the only person he knew who could possibly help him out.

~~~~~~~~~~

“You what ?” Janus’ voice hissed through the speakers on Virgil's phone, “Is this some weird joke, because it isn’t landing well.”

“No, no, I promise it's real, I-I checked and the numbers match up and I verified it at the gas station and, and-”

“Virgil, breathe. Calm down. I’m coming over so we can talk. I’ll help you get this figured out, and make sure you aren’t having delusions of grandeur.” Janus sighed, “I’ll be there in 10.”

Janus was over shortly, Virgil working with him to figure out the next course of action. Everything was going so fast. The next day Janus helped him set up meetings and accounts, and get lawyers and a budget going. The week flew by in between the contracts and calls. Even the next few months seemed to go by in a blur of bureaucratic processes. 

The first thing he did was set his parents up with a decent place to live and help them with their debts and medical bills. He did the same for himself, getting his student loans paid off finally and allowing himself to move into a spacey yet cozy penthouse. He quit both his jobs, but tried to end on a good note with his boss at the clinic in case he did ever want to go back. He was, probably for the first time in his life, comfortable.

~~~~~~~~~~

Time kept passing and Virgil had to now figure out what he wanted to spend his time on. He’d picked up his passion for music again now that he could afford nice equipment, but never had the intent to go anywhere with it. He looked into some online classes he could take, just for fun and to keep his mind stimulated. He even worked with Janus and some of his lawyers to start a charity for helping disabled students with loans that didn’t have the luck that he had. That was as close to a job as he had, once they had an office set up he made a regular schedule to help sort things out with it.

The routine he made helped him adjust to his new life. Getting up, going to the office, processing applications, working on his classes and playing music. He didn’t really spend his money anymore beyond his needs. Nothing fancy brought him much happiness. He didn’t host parties or have many friends that hung out with him before he became well off. He’d tried to go on a few dates, but the people he’d seen either knew him from the news when he originally won or they’d act disinterested until he brought up his money. The one time he actually thought he’d found someone he was interested in, the guy had thrown a fit that he wanted to end their 3rd date early to not have a panic attack.

They went to a planetarium, which for the most part Virgil enjoyed, but the segment about how small of a spec the earth was in the grand scheme of the universe triggered the existentialist anxiety of dying alone and not mattering. He had to run out and go calm down, but that proved difficult with his date shouting.

“Do you know how fucking rude it is to just run out on your date? I had to pay for these tickets, you know, and they aren’t cheap!”

“I-I know, i’m sorry, I can, um, here I’ll pay you back-” Virgil started to reach for his wallet.

“Whatever, it’s fine, let’s just see if they’ll let us back in, cmon.” The guy tugged at Virgil’s arm.

“Um…Actually I was wondering if…s-sorry uh, could- could we just go home?”

“What, are you not having a nice night? You could at least not waste my time, you know.” 

“I know, I'm really sorry, we should- maybe, uh… you can go and I’ll just head home and call an uber-”

“Ugh are you serious?” His date frowned, “You know what? Just go, I don’t wanna deal with this anymore. Don’t call me again, we’re done.” 

He watched his date head back into the planetarium and sighed, resigning himself to a bench outside to shake off the rejection. He shivered as a spike of anxiety hit him. He had to count his breaths, but it wasn’t working. He was gonna end up alone and live a completely inconsequential life that had no impact whatsoever and-

“Are you alright?”

Virgil looked over at a man a few feet away from him. He stood tall, sporting glasses and a polo with the logo of the planetarium. Virgil didn’t couldn’t quite make out the name on the man’s name tag through his watery eyes. Oh shit, was he crying? No no no this couldn’t happen in public, he was a grown man crying in public-

“Oh, apologies, I didn’t mean to startle you. I just thought I should intervene.” The man looked at Virgil with concern, “May I sit?”

Virgil nodded, easing slightly as he did. He took a shaky breath and wiped away his tears, “I-I’m so-sor-ry. I could-n’t stay in there. S-sorry.”

“There’s no need to apologize, take as much time as you need to gather yourself.” He spoke calmly. His tone comforted Virgil enough to steady his breathing and collect his thoughts.

“I’m…I’m good. Sorry.” Virgil sighed, “Just had a shitty date.”

The man frowned, “I see. Was he your ride home?”

Virgil nodded, “Figured I’d just get a cab or something.”

“Don’t waste your money, my shift just ended. If you’re comfortable with it I’d be happy to offer you a way home.”

“No no I can’t, I mean- It’s fine it’s not like money’s the issue I just don’t wanna leave him here alone.”

“After he just left you?” 

Virgil looked towards the doors of the planetarium. He slumped his shoulders in resignation, “I guess you’re right.”

“I don’t mean to intrude on your personal affairs, but he is not worth your time if he does not respect your boundaries, and I don’t feel comfortable leaving you in a potentially unsafe environment. I would feel much more assured if I knew you returned home unharmed.”

“Fuck it, ok.” Virgil sighed. He looked over at the man and was able to see him a little more clearly. His name tag attached to a Dr. Who lanyard read Logan in bold font. He looked rather lanky and had bags under his eyes comparable to Virgil’s own.

“Would you like another minute to calm down or would you like to walk with me to my car now? I don’t mind waiting.”

“Uh, no, we can go now. Th-thank you, um, Logan.” Virgil offered a half smile.

“Of course, uh…”

“Virgil.”

“Virgil.” The man- Logan, stood up and motioned for the other to follow him.

Virgil stood and accompanied him to the car. It wasn’t the fanciest thing in the world, far from it. It looked like one of the windows had been punched out and was covered with cardboard and duct tape. It looked like an older car, and when they got in Logan had to start the engine a few times before it actually got running. 

“Please excuse the state of my car,” Logan said pulling his seatbelt on, “I’d fix the window on my own if I could but I’ve been too busy to do so. Here, do you mind putting your address in so I can get directions?”

Logan handed Virgil his phone, the other quickly inputting the info and handing it back. Virgil fastened his own seatbelt as they drove out of the parking lot.

“So, you work at the planetarium?”

“My shirt indicates so.”

“Right.” Virgil nodded, “What started that?”

“I needed a part-time job to work during nights while I attended college. I studied astronomy and a professor recommended applying for the position. The job just stuck after I graduated.” 

“That sounds pretty cool. You get to go to all those shows, right?”

“No, I get to sit in the ticket booth.” 

“Oh.” Virgil looked out the window as they drove, “I didn’t realize.”

“It's alright,” Logan said, shrugging, “I’ve seen them all anyway, when I had more free time.”

“You can’t take a day off?”

Logan’s lips pursed, “Not really. I work two other jobs.”

They both spent the rest of the ride in silence until the car approached the area where Virgil lived.

“You…live over here?” Logan questioned, looking around at the tall, well-kept buildings of the city.

“Um, yeah. I guess.” Virgil sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, “I moved here a few months ago. Doesn’t feel like it though.”

Logan hummed in acknowledgement, still looking around at how different this place seemed compared to where he lived. He pulled up to a decorative building with too many stories to count from his view. He parked the car and turned to Virgil.

“Thank you for allowing me to take you home. I’m sorry you had a rough night but hopefully you’ll find someone else that will accommodate your needs appropriately.” Logan offered a smile.

Virgil returned it, before clumsily reaching to take off his seatbelt and pull out his wallet, “Uh, here.”

He offered a wad of cash to Logan, who in return pushed it back, “No, please don’t worry about covering gas. It isn’t far from my-”

“Take it. Get your window fixed too. And if you need anything else just, um, give me a call or something. Thanks again, Logan.” Virgil said, getting out of the car and shutting the door.

Logan watched him greet the doorman (his building had a doorman?) and head to his apartment, before staring down at the cash. It added up to about $350, plus Virgil's business card. He blinked and debated trying to go after him, but decided he wouldn’t be able to find him since he didn’t know which apartment was his. He pulled out his own wallet and stuffed the cash inside. The card Virgil had given him had his name and number, along with the name of a charity Logan heard the name of a few times from the news. This was too much to process, so Logan just put the card in with the cash and drove home. That was a problem for someone much more well rested.

~~~~~~~~~~

Virgil flopped down on his bed as soon as he got home. He pulled out his phone and immediately blocked his date’s number, writing him off as just another insensitive asshole trying to take advantage of him. He let his mind relax in the safety of his home and tried to just forget about tonight. Except Logan. He couldn’t get him out of his mind.

Working two jobs had Virgil on the verge of a panic attack almost every night, he couldn’t imagine working three like Logan had. And how long had he been driving that car? Wasn’t it dangerous to drive when your engine doesn’t turn over and you don’t have a window? Those bags under his eyes, was he not sleeping well? Was the money he gave him enough to cover everything? 

Virgil exhaled through his nose and flipped onto his back. These were morning problems. Or at least wake up at 3 am and worry about life problems. He glanced at his clock- 10:30. Definitely something to deal with tomorrow.

[thrilling-oneway]

i need to stop writing random shit in the fact account drafts anyway i have so many thoughts about the singular chapter (the last one) of canaria that i read so now i'm gonna word vomit (onto the right blog this time!)

So YEAH hopeful ending holy shit but also I think it's gonna fall apart and that hurts. But! It's also the most realistic outcome and prsk is actually surprisingly realistic with how they write things in terms of like, plot and emotional stuff. Staying at PXL as WxS is what they would all like to do, because no one wants to leave their friends behind and go separate ways when you grow up. However, in terms of their dreams and ambitions, staying at PXL is only what Emu wants to do.

Emu wants to stay at PXL because of what it meant to her grandpa. She wants to make sure the park will continue to bring smiles to everyone for years to come because that was her grandpa's dream, and it's her dream.

Tsukasa wants to become a world-famous star, and then comes the question of can he still do that if he stays at PXL? And honestly, not realistically. Yes, the park has made a name for itself and the group did promotional tours around the country, but he's still just a performer at a theme park. Tsukasa is really interesting in this scenario because he's a very selfless character but he also manages to balance that with being selfish because sometimes that's what you have to do to achieve your dreams (Love Live reference). And it really comes down to would he settle for being a theme park performer over world fame?

Nene as well wants to be a musical star, and if the design of her fragment sekai is anything to go by, we're headed to broadway (i can't remember if this is ever mentioned anywhere someone please force me to stop skimreading everything). And again it comes down to would she sacrifice her dream of becoming a muscial theatre star in favour of staying with her friends.

It's also interesting from Rui's POV. I actually read curtain call the entire way through so here's more word vomit sorry. Rui has everything set up for him to leave PXL and WxS. It was handed to him on a silver platter and he even accepted it even though it's not what he wanted. Obviously Asahi sent him back to WxS, but he did say that he'll get in contact with him once they graduate high school and that the offer still stands.

And it's here where we reach that split between dreams and aspirations, because just on a surface level, Rui is the only one who falls heavier on the dream side of things. Rui aspires to be a director, but ultimately his dream is/was to have people accept him and have somewhere to belong. WxS gives him that and it's why he doesn't want to let it go. That said, WxS gave all four of them a place to belong, it's just that for Rui, that part is a lot more important to him than his actual aspirations, whereas it's more balanced with the other three.

With all that considered, I don't think whatever Rui's idea is (unless it's a real banger idea) is going to work out. They still have another school year to go (or 3 irl years), so there's time to try things out and see how they go, but in the end I just don't see it happening. It's a case of it just isn't how life works. All four of them have different dreams and aspirations which means naturally they are going to walk down different paths. It's not like Leo/need, MMJ or VBS where they all have the same goals and dreams and (for L/n in particular) they can and will reach these together.

That said, if they do disband and the devs don't just write them out if that happens, I could easily see the unit still functioning from a purely gameplay perspective. Just because they don't function as a unit doesn't mean that they aren't friends and don't have lives anymore. You could focus on what Rui and Tsukasa are doing in uni/work, and also Emu and Nene will still be in high school, so WxS could continue as a part time thing. For a bit. Maybe.

Anyway watch love live if you watch it you can handle anything this game could throw at the wxs story (lie it still hurts no matter how many times you watch the train station scene)

[ghosttownwherenoonegoes]

Sweetheart, the answer isn't to watch yourself around him... The old man arguably has less to worry about than you most days. Let him worry, and let him take care of you like he did for me, 'kay? You're wearing my shirt? 🥺 Ah, Wayne was wondering where his flannel had gone off to again. Holy shit, you have an Ozzy jumper??? That's so metal babe! I'm jealous.

I know you're not stupid, babe, okay? You're talking to the guy that flunked twice already. I know how much you're capable of, but you gotta not tear yourself down, the world already does that on its own.

Aw shucks, princess, you're making me blush here. I appreciate your offer to help, it means a lot... Getting frustrated with myself doesn't always do the trick.

See, and I want to be there for you when your shoulders are tensed and your jaw's locked and it's hard to breathe because you're frustrated and you miss me but you won't let yourself see me, hell you forgot what I sound like? Babe :(

I promise, I am with you always in spirit, even when physical distance is a problem. I hope you can always be able to focus and feel the way my arms wrap around you and the way I smile into your neck.

You say it's not nice to murder people, but c'mon, you're killing me here, and I'm not supposed to reciprocate? You're effectively killing two of us at once with your words, and I'm supposed to sit idly by? I don't think so, love.

I'm glad you can get some sleep at least, even if it's inconsistent, and I know you're working on it, which is positive in itself. You know how proud you are of Harrington for being able to change for the better? That's how proud I am of you from trying.

I promise to take care of myself love, cross my old blackened heart, I swear. Though, I wouldn't mind if you stop by a bit more, this place is lonely when you're not here to light it up. I hope I've made you feel better, at least a bit, there's not much else I can do.

I love you, sweet thing.

--Eddie🖤

Eddddddieeeeee ~ !!!💖

As promised, I’m writing to you in the morning after some sleep & during a study break! I knew you were waiting for me🥺did you sleep well, pretty?

I worry so much about disappointing or worrying you and Uncle Wayne, especially the latter because he has so much world experience and if anyone’s gonna know if I’m fucking all this up, it’ll be him. He works so hard every single day and I find so much safety and comfort in that because if he can do it, then so can I. But I’ll let him worry and take care of me, if only because I know he wouldn’t if he didn’t want to. He takes such good care of you and raised you beautifully. Look at you.🥺See, if any of your Hellfire shirts or Uncle Wayne’s flannel goes missing, know that I’ve, uh… borrowed it without consent. It’s like being hugged by you, it’s like having you constantly with me and that’s something I’ll always want.🥺Yes, my Ozzy jumper!!! You can borrow it whenever you want, Eddie. Even if I’m already wearing it; I’d give it to you.🥺

Thank you, honey. This particular semester is… the hardest one yet but unfortunately for me, there are still some years to go before I graduate. But with each year, I learn more and get better so it’ll get easier. But still, you’re right. I’m not stupid, I just haven’t done any of this before. YOU aren’t stupid either, Eddie, far from it. You’re so creative and intelligent and you just, you just GET people and I admire you so so much. If your mind was a swimming pool then I’d be jumping right in at the deep end so I could get lost in you🥺

We can study together, if you want? You, me, some horror films or music, more snacks than we can realistically eat in one night, I can cook us and Uncle Wayne dinner, and we can help each other. Getting frustrated with yourself is understandable but it won’t do you any favours. Gotta take some deep breaths and not tug on those gorgeous curls of yours so hard, hm?

Not letting myself see you is a problem. “Oh, I’ll swing by and see Eddie tonight once I’ve done my work” or I promise myself “in an hour”, but then that hour comes and I don’t see you because I found something else which needs to do and I promise hour by hour and then before I know it, it’s bedtime and I’m upset because I didn’t get to see you even though nothing was in my way except me.💔I’m lucky I have Taylor to call me a motherfucker and send me things from you(😂🥺), otherwise a singular month would become plural.💔

Please stay, Eddie. I don’t want you to leave or go anywhere. My daydreams of you keep me company through the day and encourage me to keep going, even and especially when I’m a mosquito’s dick away from dropping out of university. Uncle Wayne has also stopped me from doing that a few times.

It’s definitely not nice to murder people, but murdering one another with words is sweet🥺you can always reciprocate, Eddie, I wouldn’t ever stop you from doing something you want to do. Hawkins does that to you enough and it turns my blood to lava. You’re the sanest of them all.

I am ridiculously proud of Harrington for choosing to be better and then actively working on it. I know well that it isn’t easy to do that, and so do and Uncle Wayne and Taylor, as well as countless others, and someone really needs to tell Steve how amazing he is. EDDIEEEEE ~ PLEASEEEE I’M ALREADY. DEAD, STOP MURDERING ME AGAINNNN🥺😭🙏💗Thank you for being proud of me.🥺 I’m so proud of you!!!💖

“Old blackened heart” is something we both say we have and YET!!!! We are soft🥺you got a big ol’ heart in there, Eddie. Gotta protect it! Okay, I know as soon as I say this that Taylor is gonna hold me to it, but once I’ve sent this and then replied to Uncle Wayne, I’ll turn off this horror film I’m watching and instead watch some things of yours. I ca’t come by tonight until late because I have plans with a friend and I have work tomorrow (they called me in on my week off💔), but I will see you before the stroke of midnight, Eddie. You always make me feel better. Just by being you.

I love you too, so much.

💗

[ragingbookdragon]

We Only Get One Love, I Want To Make It Count, Honey, Come On Now And Take My Hand

Barry Allen x Reader Story

Word Count: 7.4K Warnings: Explicit Language

Author's Note: I've been writing this for like a week. Enjoy! -Thorne

**********************************************************************

Barry handed the file over to the detective next to him. “Tox screen came back negative. He wasn’t using, but the cocaine was laced with another complex chemical compound we’re still trying to break down and identify.”

“Most dealers don’t use their goods,” he countered, flipping the file open to read it. “But he wasn’t the dealer. He’s just a mule.”

The forensic scientist frowned. “The amount of cocaine he was carrying wasn’t even a quarter of a gram. It doesn’t make sense that he was a mule. A buyer, maybe, but not a mule. Something else was going on at the drug deal.”

“Nothing can ever be simple with you, can it, Allen?” the detective asked. “Kid was in a drug deal gone wrong, that’s it.”

“I don’t believe that,” Barry argued, one hand clenching at his side. “He was a straight A student and ran track. He had scholarships lined up through the doors. Good kids like this don’t fall into drug deals so dangerous that they end up dead.”

“So, what? You’re gonna go scour the streets and ask around the local dealers to find out?”

“It’s as good a plan as any,” he retorted. “I won’t let this become a col—”

“Barry?”

The two men paused, turning their heads to the side to see a young woman, no older than Barry, with a look of surprise on her face, quickly shifting into excitement. “Barry Allen!” she greeted, and Barry hadn’t even realized she had her arms around his waist as she hugged him and swung him slightly. “Oh my God, I haven’t seen you since senior graduation!” She pulled away and placed her hands on either side of his shoulder. “You look fantastic!”

Barry blinked, mind flashing back to high school, which felt so long ago, and oh my God, he was only thirty-four; realization hit him like a train, and he offered her a bright grin. “(Y/N)!” he pulled her back into a hug, squeezing her tightly. “Wow!” he shifted back to take in her features only to pull her in again for the third time. “You look fantastic!”

She laughed and leaned back, giving him a once over. “I see you made good on your dream of becoming a forensic scientist. I bet you’re the best CCPD has.”

His cheeks warmed and he brushed it off with, “No, there are definitely others here that are way better than I’ll ever hope to be.”

“Still as humble as ever,” she humored, turning to look at the detective who was staring at her like she was made of gold. “Good morning.”

“G—good morning,” he breathed. “Holy shit, you’re (Y/N) (L/N).”

“I am,” she smiled.

“Can I take a picture with you?” he asked, suddenly dazzled, and pulled out his phone. “Please!”

(Y/N) laughed and gently pulled from Barry, leaning into the detective’s side as she grinned towards the camera. The shudder flickered and they separated, him gazing at the screen in adoration. “Thank you, Miss (Y/N).”

“Of course!” she chirped. “I’m always happy to take photos with fans.” She leaned close and whispered, “Just don’t post that until I leave CCPD or else you’ll see a swarm of people come in here.”

He chuckled. “Detective’s word, I won’t until you’re back in your limo, Miss (Y/N).”

“Thank you.”

Barry looked between them, blonde brows furrowing. “I must be missing something. Are you famous now or something, (Y/N)?”

Before she could answer, the detective gave him an offended look. “Are you serious, Allen? Like, seriously?”

“Uh…yes?”

He blinked. “(Y/N) (L/N) just signed with Wayne Enterprises like a year ago. She’s the newest model to enter the real big leagues. She makes bank, dude. And I mean like, Kendall Jenner, Bella and Gigi Hadid bank.” He winked at (Y/N). “Don’t take it personally, Miss (Y/N), Allen’s always out of the loop with the newest shit.”

She giggled as Barry’s cheeks flushed. “Oh, he’s been that way since we were kids. I wouldn’t have suspected any different.”

Either Barry was tired of being embarrassed or he had the sudden realization that (Y/N) wasn’t here because she wanted to catch up, because he asked, “(Y/N), what are you doing here at CCPD?”

Immediately, her smile dropped, and an uncomfortable look came over her face. “Oh…well, you see, someone broke into my apartment last night while I was asleep.” (Y/N) looked away. “I woke up to someone rummaging through my drawers and well…”

Barry’s eyes widened. “Oh my God, were you hurt or anything?”

“No! no!” she replied hurriedly. “I screamed and managed to scramble into my bathroom and call nine-one-one.” (Y/N) turned and pointed into the squad-room. “One of the detective’s was tasked with casing my apartment and checking the security footage to see how they got in.”

Understanding he was in a private conversation, the detective slapped Barry on the shoulder. “I gotta go take this to my partner. Don’t think too hard about the case, Allen. Some things are better left alone.” He winked again at (Y/N). “Thanks again for the photo, Miss (Y/N).”

“Absolutely!” she smiled and waited until he walked away to turn back to Barry and gripe, “Your detective there sounds like a real dick.”

Barry almost choked on his spit at her insult and quickly said, “He’s a hotshot detective. Thinks he can power through everything. He just got the award for most cases closed this year.”

“Well, cutting corners like that is going to get someone hurt or worse,” she retorted, gazing at him. “Justice is deserved by all, no matter how much it takes to prove it.” (Y/N) cleared her throat and waved a hand. “Sorry, you didn’t stay here for a sermon.”

He smiled. “Don’t worry about it, (Y/N), I feel the same.” Her smile made something bubble in his chest and suddenly he was struck by how beautiful she was. Quite a lot different from the high school years, but didn’t everyone mature ten to fifteen years after? Obviously, she wasn’t dressed up like she was going to a glamorous party, but she did look like she was going to host a luncheon for other models. Barry blinked. “Your apartment though, how long until you’re allowed to go back in?”

“I’m not sure,” she shrugged. “Detective Reisse said it’d be a few days to thoroughly go over everything. They think the intruder is a stalker who knows my movements and locations.” A brief expression of worry so heart-wrenching came over her face and Barry felt for her as she said, “My boss paid for me to stay in the hotel across from here, but…I don’t exactly feel safe in a penthouse that big and lonely.” She shook her head. “It’s weird I guess, but that’s how I’m feeling right now about it.”

Before he could comprehend that his mouth was moving, he was offering, “Why don’t you come and stay at my house for the time being?” her face must’ve given away her surprise because Barry flushed for what seemed like the hundredth time and scratched the back of his neck. “I mean, it’s just a suggestion. I don’t want you to feel pressured or anything, but I just think you’d feel more comfortable somewhere familiar. I mean, the house isn’t going to be familiar to you, but we’ve known each other since we were kids, and I—”

“Barry, I’d love to take you up on that offer,” she said over his rambling, halting him in his tracks and (Y/N) grinned. “But I do hope you know that I take long, hot showers and make cookies at three A.M. when I’m stressed.”

He gave her a pearly smile. “Are they the double chocolate cookies you used to make in Home EC?”

“Actually, they’ve become triple chocolate because I coat the tops in chocolate ganache.” His mouth started to water, and his stomach grumbled causing her to laugh as he prodded it with a blush across his nose. “I guess I’m going to be making some tonight.” Her eyes widened. “Unless I’m not coming over tonight but tomorrow?”

“Tonight is okay,” Barry replied. “Do you need to get your things from the hotel?”

“Yeah,” she started, giggling when his stomach grumbled again like a starved whale. “But first I think we should get you some food before you keel over.” (Y/N) turned, intent to walk away then paused and looked back. “When is your lunch break?”

Barry smiled. “Right now.”

She grinned and held out her arm for him to take. “Then let’s go to the conference room in this place and order DoorDash.”

As she pulled him off, he asked, “What’s DoorDash?”

***PART TWO***

“I haven’t been down this street in at least a decade,” she murmured from the driver’s seat. “It’s changed so much and yet not at all, y’know?”

Barry hummed bemusedly. “The Homeowner’s Association came in and forced everyone to get picket white fences and cut their grass every other day.”

“God forbid human beings do manual labor,” she laughed and glanced at the GPS arrow coming closer to Barry’s house. “Should be the next house on the left, right?”

“Yeah, the dark gray one right there,” he said, pointing across the dash.

(Y/N) turned the wheel and pulled into the driveway, shutting off the engine; she got out of the car and popped the trunk, pausing to look over his home. “Your house is gorgeous, Barry.”

He nodded. “It’s small and kinda quaint, but it’s home.” He glanced at her. “We have to share a bathroom, I hope you don’t mind.”

“I don’t,” she answered, trying to yank her suitcase out of the trunk, but Barry gently took the handle from her and lifted it with ease. “Is that not heavy to you?”

Barry laughed. “I’m stronger than I look, (Y/N). I’m not a beanpole like I was in high school.”

She tipped her head back and cackled, grabbing her smaller carry-on. “Oh my God, you were so tiny in school. I could’ve looked through you.”

“Yeah, yeah, I was skinny. Now I’m not.”

(Y/N) cocked a brow and prodded his side. “You’re not skinny, Barry, you’re fit.” Reaching up, she squeezed his bicep. “How often do you work out?”

“I, uh…whenever I can?”

“Look, either you’re a total gym nut or you’re on steroids.”

“I am not on steroids!” he retorted. “I run! A lot!”

She grinned and waited for him to unlock the door before entering behind him; she paused in the doorway and inhaled. “Reminds me of Darryl’s house back on the other side of Central. Vanilla and cinnamon wall plugs, right?”

Barry glanced at her. “Good nose. You remember Darryl?”

(Y/N) offered him an almost offended look. “I’m hurt you thought I wouldn’t.” she set her bag on his couch. “You act like we didn’t spend the night over at each other’s house all the time.” Suddenly she forgot her hurt and laughed. “Do you remember the time that Darryl worked late and came home to the two of us watching Alien in the blanket and cushion fort we made?”

“I do,” he chuckled and set her suitcase down. “You were too afraid to go home that night even when he offered to drive you back, so he called your mom and asked if you could spend the night.”

She smiled. “We didn’t sleep the entire night and ended up camping on Darryl’s floor because we were so scared.” (Y/N) gazed at him, voice turning solemn. “I’m sorry I haven’t kept in contact with you, Barry…I feel horrible about the distance between our friendship.”

Barry’s frown was short-lived as he nodded and gave her a soft smile. “If you’re to blame, then so am I, (Y/N). Contact goes both ways.” He tipped his head to the side. “We’ve both been busy with our lives, but look at us,” he said, gesturing to them. “It’s been what, three hours since we reunited and it’s like nothing changed.”

(Y/N) almost melted and she looked away with a smile, whispering, “You’re always so sincere, Barry.” She laughed quietly and glanced around towards the kitchen. “Mind if I see what I can make for dinner? I’m feeling like I’m going to be owing you some dinner for a few days and maybe some rent.”

“Dinner, yes, rent, don’t even think about paying me,” he snorted. “You’re staying here because you’re my friend, not a tenant renting my guest room.”

She looked back as he picked up her carry-one and started towards the guest room. “You say that now, but just wait a few days and you’ll be asking for a grand or two in reparations for all the inconveniences.”

“I’ll wager you fifty that I won’t.”

“Deal!” she called out as she wandered into the kitchen and he the bedroom.

***

She curled her feet up on the couch and perched on the end of the sofa, him the other end; both had bowls of spicy, enchilada soup in their hands, eyes glued to the TV. “God, would you look at those graphics,” she muttered. “Hello, hottie blondie.”

“Shh!” Barry directed in her direction. “Belmont and him are about to start fighting!” he shoveled a spoonful of soup into his mouth.

(Y/N) blinked. “He’s kind of a twink,” she said, putting her spoon in her mouth. “Technically by definition, you are too.”

“I thought twinks were in their twenties?” he questioned. “I’m thirty-four.”

“It’s the thought that counts,” she replied, not taking her eyes off the TV, though she scooted closer and dug her feet under his thigh, jumping slightly as the whip cracked through the speakers. “Ouch! That would hurt.” She was quick to laugh though and add, “Ha, stone the fuck up.”

“Whips crack faster than the speed of sound. You’re actually hearing a mini sonic boom when it does,” he noted, watching the scene unravel before them, snorting as the vampire said, ‘Please, this isn’t a bar fight. Have some class.’

“See, usually when a guy sees a crotch-shot, he cringes, not laughs.”

Barry glanced over to see her staring with amusement, and he replied, “One of my friends is known to do that to people.”

“In bar fights?” she asked, and he snorted.

“Bar-fights, fights in general, all of the above.” Barry looked at her. “He’s a…man, y’know?”

“I got it,” she laughed, eating more of the food before her. “Do you have a lot of friends, Barry? I know back in high school you were kind of a wallflower.”

“I was not!” he retorted. “I was just—quiet and anxious.”

(Y/N) blinked. “Barry, that’s literally the definition of being a wallflower.”

He flushed and glanced at the TV. “I had you.”

“You did,” she agreed. “The lonely wallflower and his outgoing best friend. What a stereotypical pair we were.”

Barry smiled and eyed her. “To answer your question, I don’t have a lot of friends, not like you do, but I do have a good group of friends.” He shifted his bowl into his left hand and fumbled in the pocket of his sweatpants for something, pulling his phone out moments later; he swiped at it for a few moments then showed her the screen. “This is me and my best frie—” he cut himself off with a cough and restated, “This is me and my good friend, Hal.”

(Y/N) took the phone and looked him over. “Good save on calling him your best friend. We were going to fight about it if you said otherwise.” Her eyes flowed over the man’s features. “He’s good looking. Let me guess, full of himself, takes women and men alike to bed, and has major commitment issues?” She glanced at him when he didn’t respond at first and she smirked when she saw that his eyebrows were hitting his forehead. “Right on the money.”

He tried to take his phone back, but she lifted it from his reach to keep looking at it. “How’d you know that? You’re dead on.”

“You’re not the type of person to gain friends like this guy looks,” she replied. “He’s wearing a bomber, probably a pilot’s given the patches. He’s wearing dog-tags, so military, and combine that with the bomber, I’m more than sure he’s a pilot. Most pilots go for Air Force or Navy, I’m betting Air Force since the bar sign behind you says Coast City and Coast is near Edward’s Air Force Base. Pilots are typically cocky, self-centered, and this guy looks like he swims in issues.” (Y/N) looked at him over the phone. “How much of that did I get right?”

Barry’s stunned face made her laugh and he said, “He is a pilot, he’s also a Captain in the Air Force, and he has major commitment issues—seriously, he’s got an on and off again girlfriend that hates him more times than she loves him.”

Her smile dripped of self-satisfaction. “And the (L/N) Readings win another.” She handed his phone back. “What about you Barry?”

“What about me?” he replied, pocketing his phone.

“Do you have a girlfriend?”

Barry choked on a spoonful of soup, liquid splattering the blanket across his legs and probably the table from how forceful the coughs were; (Y/N) reached over and slapped his back a few times. “Jesus, don’t die on me. All I asked was if you had a girlfriend.”

“You can’t just ask someone that!” he retorted hoarsely, cheeks flushed from either the embarrassment of the implications of a girlfriend or from coughing so hard. “That’s personal!”

“Is that a yes or a no, because it’s not very clear which it is.”

Barry’s cheeks twinged warmer, and he looked away, dabbing at his lap with the napkin. “I’m not seeing anybody right now. I’m—busy.”

“Busy or unable to get yourself out there?” (Y/N) countered, putting her half-eaten bowl on the coffee table. “You know I can give you pointers, right? Do you want some?”

“No, I do not want pointers,” he muttered in exasperation. “I’m fine. I can get a date on my own.”

“Uh huh,” (Y/N) replied dubiously. “And when’s the last time you went on a real date?”

Barry cleared his throat and focused back on the TV. “Last January.”

“Barry, it’s February. Of the next year. It’s been a full year.”

“Why is it important that I go on dates?”

She snorted. “Maybe so you don’t end up lonely and bent over a microscope forever.”

He cocked his head to the side and glared at her, though was heatless, more defensive than anything. “Well, when’s the last time you went on a date?”

(Y/N) blinked. “Romantic interest or work function? Because Bruce Wayne was my date to the annual gala last month, and my ex and I broke up like three weeks before that, but we’d gone on a date to Sicily.” She grinned at his crestfallen expression. “Barry, in my profession, it’s expected that I’m supposed to have eye candy on my arm or at least a date to hang around with.”

“Well in my profession, it’s not,” he shot back, shoveling the soup into his mouth whilst glaring at her. “Fi’me flofley fand fi flike fit.”

“I didn’t understand a word you just said,” she deadpanned.

He swallowed. “I’m lonely and I like it.”

(Y/N) merely grinned and wiggled her toes under his leg. “No, you don’t.”

***PART THREE***

He pulled the key from the lock and pushed the door open, setting his briefcase beside the shoe rack as he toed his loafers off. “I’m home!” he called, tugging off his sweater.

A grin came over his lips as he heard, “Welcome home! I’m making chicken and mushroom soup with rice!”

Barry appeared in the entrance to the kitchen, pausing to watch her squat in front of one of the drawers, rummaging through for what he assumed was probably a spatula. “Did you use the—”

“Yes, I used the good rice,” she griped, shooting an annoyed look in his direction. “You know this only tastes good when you use sticky rice.”

“I was just making sure,” he chuckled, coming to stand beside her as she mixed the soup with the rice, stirring until she was content to place the chicken breasts in with it. “What’d you do today?”

(Y/N) hummed, turning the knob to the oven onto the temperature she needed. “Made some calls to Mister Wayne and asked about the shoots I was supposed to do this week.”

“What’d he say?” Barry asked, pulling a bottle of water out from the refrigerator. “Do you need to fly to Gotham?”

“Actually, he’s pushed all shoots back for five months, given me paid time off, and told me to just worry about recovering and probably look for a new apartment while this all settles.” (Y/N) glanced at him. “He’s a lot more generous than I’ve heard some other bosses in this industry be.”

“Indeed, he is,” he agreed and as if. “I talked to Detective Reisse.”

Her eyes widened and she turned to him. “What’d they say?”

Barry smiled and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. “They found the guy who broke into your apartment. Turns out he’s a serial intruder who’s been doing it for some time now, but you’re the only one who managed to see him in the act. Admitted that he stalks the women before breaking in so he can know when they’ll either be asleep or out.”

(Y/N) let out an exhale. “You mean there were other women’s apartments he was breaking into?”

He saw the worry come over her expression and he pulled her into a hug. “There were, but (Y/N), you managed to lead CCPD to him. He won’t do it again. Your apartment is safe to go back to. Or if you want to look for a new one, I’d be happy to come with you.”

“Oh…” suddenly relieved, she softly lifted her arms underneath his and wrapped them around his back. “That’s good,” she murmured, and Barry shifted when he felt something damp on his shoulder.

“(Y/N)?”

She shook her head, still leaving her face in his shirt. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, voice laced thickly with tears. “I don’t mean to be so upset.”

Barry pulled away and gently took her face in his hands, thumbs wiping under her eyes. “(Y/N), you have every right to be upset. Someone violated your home, security, and safety.” He gave her a serious look. “It’s okay to be upset about this. To feel hurt and disgusted and scared.”

Despite the wiping of her tears, more just seemed to flow down her face and she swallowed thickly, nodding her head as best she could in his hands. “I know,” she said quietly. “I know, I’m just…I don’t know what I am.”

“Relieved? Worried?” he offered. “All of the above?”

She couldn’t fight the corners of her lips going up and she huffed a soft laugh. “That sounds about right.” (Y/N) gazed at Barry and murmured, “Thank you, Barry, for all of this.”

“What do you mean all of this?” he asked, brows furrowing, but not in confusion, more of fondness than anything.

“Barry, it’s been at least fifteen years since we saw each other, and you didn’t hesitate to open your home to me.” She gave a sad smile. “You’ve let me stay for the past two weeks, and I—”

“You’re here because you’re family,” Barry interrupted calmly. “(Y/N), no matter the distance or time between us, it will never change the memories and love that we have for one another.” He gave her a smile, that Barry Allen smile that made her heart flutter. “You’ve always been my best friend, (Y/N), and nothing will ever change that.”

She stared at him for a long moment, then deflated in his palms. “Barry Allen, you certainly know how to make someone feel loved and belonged.”

That smile only became toothy as he grinned widely. “I’ve been told by a few people that I’m good at it.”

“Yeah? Anyone as special as me or are they meh?”

His eyes crinkled around the edges. “Compared to you, they’re meh.”

“So that makes me the most special then?” (Y/N) giggled, edging a bit forward in his hands so their faces were closer together. “What makes me most special to you, Barry?”

He hummed low in his throat, intent to start leaning towards her too when the oven beeped, startling the two; they pulled away like lightning had struck them and (Y/N) turned around to put the casserole dish in the oven.

She stood back up and closed the over, glancing over her shoulder. “You must be tired after working all day. Why don’t you go change into something comfortable and relax on the couch?”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea,” he agreed, stretching his arms above his head, letting out a grunt as his shoulder popped. “If you need anything—”

“I’ll let you know,” she laughed, shooing him from the kitchen. “But I wouldn’t ask for your help to cook if my life depended on it.”

“WHAT’S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN!”

***

She was awakened by a groan, something that sounded torn between pain and struggle, and she glanced across the hall to Barry’s bedroom, the shut door only worrying her as she got out of the bed and tiptoed to the door. “I’m going to die,” she breathed out. “I’m going to die, I’m going to die, I’m going to die.”

(Y/N) hesitantly stuck her head an inch outside the door frame and peered into the darkness; a shadow passing by the hall had her sucking in a breath and looking towards Barry’s door. She glanced back towards the hall, seeing the shadow fall somewhere behind the couch and she hurried to his door, opening it, and slipping inside.

Moving to his bed, she hissed, “Barry! Barry get up! Someone’s in the house!” she squinted in the darkness of his room, placing her hand on his bed to find it cold and no Barry inside it. “Oh, come on!”

(Y/N) looked around the room for something to defend herself with, eyes falling on the wooden baseball bat sitting in the corner; she cheered quietly, “Thank you, Nora Allen for encouraging baby Barry Allen to play sports.” She grabbed the bat and silently slipped from Barry’s bedroom, creeping down the dark hallway and into the even darker living room.

The grunt sounded again, and she stepped behind the couch, seeing someone crouched down, a man from the broadness of his shoulders. (Y/N) didn’t think twice, turning to the side as she swung the baseball bat with all the force she had in her body. She hit him square across his back, his shout of shocked pain escaping him as he collapsed to the hardwood floor, limbs sprawling out.

(Y/N) kept her eyes on him, the bat pointed at him as she fumbled with the other to pull the light chain on the lamp; light filtered through the room and she squinted at the sudden brightness, taking in the crimson suited man. She held the bat out again as she sidestepped, pointing it at him as she neared his head.

“Who are you!” she shouted, hands shaking around the bat, and he turned his head.

“I’m the Flash.”

She blinked, looking over his suit one more time and she gasped, dropping the bat. “Oh shit, I—I am so sorry, I—" (Y/N) bent down and helped him sit up, eyes widening as she exclaimed, “You’re bleeding!”

“I’ll be fine,” he muttered, prodding the healing wound in his side. “My back won’t be though. I think you dislocated one of my shoulder blades, (Y/N).”

“Well, I’m sorry I thought you were—wait, how do you know who I am?” He gestured to the cowl, and she cautiously reached up, pushing it down from his chin before shifting it from his face and her expression bled shock as she breathed, “Barry?”

He smiled, one twinged with pain. “Sorry for waking you up. I was trying to be quiet, but I stumbled into the coffee table.”

She merely gaped at him, too stunned to say anything other than, “Holy shit.”

“Oh, come one,” he muttered. “It can’t be that mind-blowing.”

“But you’re you!” she blurted out. “Quiet, shy, Barry Allen! This is—you’re a freaking superhero!”

Barry was quick to push his hand to her mouth and hush her. “Shh! My neighbors have ears, (Y/N)!”

“Well, I’m sorry,” she griped from behind his hand. “I’m just coming to terms with the fact that my best friend is a goddamn superhero by night and a forensic scientist by day!” she looked away. “Thank God, you don’t look up newest models because you did not need to see the Justice League lingerie shoot.”

“See what?”

“Nothing!” (Y/N) looked back at him. “You really go out there and save the world?”

He smiled. “I do.”

She reached up and brushed back the blond hair. “I’ve seen videos of the JL fighting. You’re always up there in the action.” She frowned. “You’ve unleashed a whole new level of worry upon me.”

Barry took her hand and squeezed it. “I promise that I won’t make you worry too much.” She must’ve not seemed convinced because he laid her hand flat to his chest and rested his hand above hers. “(Y/N), I can’t stop being the Flash. I have to do it. I can’t promise that I won’t get hurt, or that things will always go right. But I can promise you that I’ll do everything in my power to come home whole and safe.”

“Pinky promise?” she asked, lifting her free hand and Barry grinned, looping his free pinky to hers.

“I pinky promise.”

(Y/N) gazed at him for a moment, then let out a calm sigh and pulled her hands away. “C’mon, let’s get you up and to the bathroom. You’re sweaty and bloody.”

“I’ll be okay,” he replied, trying to get to his feet, only to stumble as his upper body weakened.”

She caught him, one arm curling under and around his waist. “Quit trying to be a hero right now. Let me help you.”

“I’m going to heal, (Y/N),” he whined embarrassed. “You just have to give me a minute.”

Ignoring him, she helped him through the hall and into the bathroom, flicking the light and vent on before leaning him against the counter as she turned the shower knob on; she stuck her hand under the water waiting until it ran between hot and warm, then she turned to Barry. “How does your suit come off?”

Immediately, Barry flushed as red as his suit. “You don’t have to help me take my suit off.”

“Barry, I hit you pretty hard across your back. Let me help you,” she begged, popping her bottom lip out. “Please.”

He looked away in embarrassment, gesturing to it. “It’ll stretch when I generate thermal energy.” He started doing so, body and space around him heating up considerably and she hurried, stretching the fabric from his neck and down his shoulders to his waist, freeing his arms and torso. Barry pushed her hands away when she grabbed the fabric at his upper hips, with a hurried, “I can pull them down.”

(Y/N) rolled her eyes. “Barry, you know I’ve seen you naked before, right? Like you’re not hiding anything. Unless you’ve got a tattoo?”

“I don’t have a tattoo and I don’t want you to see me naked! It’s not proper!” he spluttered.

“You’re such a Midwesterner, Barry Allen,” she snorted, rolling her eyes. “Jesus, you should spend a day doing photo shoots with other models. I’ve seen more goodies in one hour than you’ve probably seen in your entire life.” She shot him a grin. “Want me to strip too so you can feel comfortable about being the only one not nude?”

“GET OUT!” he cried, trying to sound angry, shoving her out the door, but (Y/N) knew that the blush on his cheeks and down his chest betrayed him.

“I’m going!” she snorted. “But don’t fall or I’ll have to come in and help you up. And I might see your goodies~”

“STOOOOOOOOP!”

***PART FOUR***

“Wow, it’s already gone,” she noted gently tracing her fingers across the expanse of his pale back no longer marred by the black bruise she’d given him the night before. “You do heal fast.”

Barry glanced back at her and pulled the shirt back over his shoulders. “I’ve healed broken femurs in less than five hours.” His voice sounded almost prideful. “I can take hits and they hurt, but they heal quickly.”

(Y/N) laughed, turning him around just as he finished his last button, and she took the ends of his tie and firmly knotted it at the base of his throat. “Sorry I hit you.”

“It’s okay,” he replied, looking at her. “I’m sorry for worrying you. Last thing you needed was to be reminded of the incident a few weeks ago.”

“Well, at least I got to hit the supposed intruder this time and not run into my bathroom.” She smiled, still not taking her hands away from his chest. “I found an apartment near the police department. Security is much better.”

He frowned. “When are you leaving?”

“I was going to leave in the morning.”

“Now?” he asked, eyes widening, and she immediately backtracked.

“No! Tomorrow morning!” (Y/N) smiled nervously. “I wasn’t just going to leave with you gone at work. I was going to make dinner and we could have a…a y’know…”

“A y’know?” Barry inquired confusedly and she felt her cheeks warm.

She looked into his eyes. “A home date. You and me? Wear our best and eat here?”

His eyes went wide, jaw starting to slacken, and he couldn’t form a sentence, merely stutter out her name and, “I, uh, I mean—”

“Barry,” she calmed, placing her hand on his arm. “If you’re not comfortable with it, it’s okay, I’m not going to be upset if you don’t want to take this step.” (Y/N) smiled. “If you say no, we’ll have dinner tonight and pretend nothing ever happened.” She simply smiled, awaiting his answer.

His shoulders slumped, a dopey grin crossing his lips as pink twinged his cheeks and he expressed warmly, “I’d love to have dinner with you tonight. The date kind.”

She laughed and pulled away, only for Barry to pull her back in, long arms curling around her waist as he buried his face in her hair, trying to hide the grin on his lips. “Barry?” she laughed again, wrapping her arms under his and greedily feeling up the muscles on his back. “You’re gonna be late for work.”

He jerked away at that, eyes wide as he glanced at his wristwatch. “Ah crap,” he muttered, speeding around the room to get his jacket and briefcase.

A whirl of lightning spread around the kitchen and living room and the door opened and slammed shut, then moments later it repeated, and he zoomed back to her, cheeks hot as he fumbled with his hands before leaning in to kiss her cheek and then he was gone again with a, “See you tonight!”

***

“Are you almost done in there?” she asked, a goofy smile crossing her lips as she heard him trip and probably whack his nose from the ‘Ow!’ she heard inside his bedroom.

“Almost!” he replied. “I chose the other shirt! But I had to resew a button on it, and I don’t really know how I lost the button?”

The doorbell rang and she snorted, pulling from his door. “I’m going to get that while you sew your buttons back on, Rapunzel.” (Y/N) crossed through the living room through the front door and pulled it open, smiling at the stranger on the front step; he looked familiar, but she couldn’t place him right at the moment. “Good evening, can I help you?”

He was surprised to see her, and his brows furrowed as he leaned to the side and peeked over her shoulder into the house. “I’m looking for Barry but,” he drew his gaze back to her and cocked his elbow above her head on the door frame and smirked. “I’m more interested in looking at you right now.”

She drew her eyes down to the name on his left breast side of his brown jacket and suddenly, it clicked as she greeted, “You must be Hal.”

“I am,” he replied. “You got a name gorgeous?”

(Y/N) snorted and glanced behind her. “Barry, your boyfriend’s here!”

“BOYFRIEND?!” both spluttered and she saw Barry come around the corner, brows drawn together in confusion until he saw Hal and he said, “Hal? What are you doing here?”

“Well, I was coming to mooch off my best friend like I always do when I’m in Central,” he retorted, putting his hands on his hips. “I’m hurt you didn’t remember.”

Barry rolled his eyes. “You show up whenever you want, Hal, it’s not like you’re on time every month.”

“Well, it’s obviously a good time now,” he joked, grinning cheekily at (Y/N) and she merely smiled in return, not oblivious to the very obvious flirtation in his voice.

She blinked. “Barry and I were just about to go out for dinner. Why don’t you join us?”

“Sounds good,” he agreed, and Barry looked at her with confusion.

“But the food is already—”

(Y/N) winked and laced her arm with his. “Save that for lunch tomorrow, Barry, now come on,” she said, snatching her keys from the key holder by the door. “Hal do you like diner food? I love some pancakes for dinner.”

“Ah, sweet tooth,” he cooed, opening the door for her only to tip his head down and add, “After you, beautiful.”

“Thank you!” she smiled, tugging Barry behind her, who scowled at Hal the entire ride to the diner.

***

Hal had managed to squeeze himself beside (Y/N) in the corner booth, Barry sitting on the other side away from the two and boy, he was not happy. He was glaring at Hal, especially when the man curled his arm behind her shoulders and leaned over, whispering a joke in her ear that had her snorting into the large chocolate milkshake.

“So,” (Y/N) started, glancing over at Hal. “What do you do for a living, Hal?”

“I’m a pilot,” he murmured, over the rim of his soda, setting the cup back down. “Captain in the Air Force.”

“Oh?” she wondered. “You wear a uniform?”

“Something tells me you like a man in uniform.”

She smiled and popped one of Barry’s fries into her mouth. “Do you fly often?”

“As often as I can.”

“What’s it like being up in the air above all us humans that probably look like ants?”

Hal grinned. “Like nothing you’ve ever seen before.”

(Y/N) tipped her head to the side. “My ex was actually a pilot. Not for the military though, just a hobby. I’ve seen it up there.”

He glanced at her with a heated gaze and flirted, “You’ve never flown with me.”

“Wonder why anyone would, date stealer,” Barry muttered, stabbing his fry in ketchup and Hal looked at him.

“You say something, Bar?” Hal asked and he frowned.

“Nothing.”

His expression darkened and then he felt something brush against his foot and up his pants leg; a high-heel pressed to his skin and his knee jerked up, smacking the underside of the table, startling Hal and (Y/N) pretended to be concerned. “You okay, Barry?” she inquired, watching as his cheeks flushed. “Everything alright?”

“I’m fine,” he excused hurriedly. “I just had a—a shiver.”

Hal cocked a brow. “Pretty jumpy shiver, Bar.” He looked at her. “Whenever Barry gets super hungry, he gets skittish. Like a newborn deer.”

(Y/N) snorted and bit into another fry. “Ah, the wee babe,” she hummed, and Barry’s cheeks darkened, forcing him to eat his food so he didn’t say anything stupid.

Hal turned his attention back onto (Y/N), slinking deeper in the booth so his arm brushed her back. “So, (Y/N), about flying with me…”

***

“Mind if I crash on your couch, Bar?” Hal asked as they walked into the living room and Barry sighed, grabbing a blanket from the hall closet before tossing it at him.

“Might as well, you don’t go home after we eat.” He glanced at him. “Do you want a pillow?”

“Nah, I’ve got the pillows,” he replied, gesturing to the decorative pillows on the couch.

(Y/N) merely watched the tension slowly start to boil over and she cleared her throat, finally done with the charade. “Well, it’s been quite a night of laughter and good food.” She smiled. “I should go to bed since I have to get to my apartment tomorrow morning for a meeting with Bruce Wayne.”

“Bruce Wayne?” Hal repeated. “You know Bruce Wayne? How?”

She grinned. “He’s my boss. I’m one of Wayne Enterprises top models.” Walking over, she leaned and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Thank you for being a good sport on Barry and mine’s date.”

“Good sport?” he said, paling and (Y/N) turned to Barry.

She took his tie in one hand and gently but firmly pulled him forward, free hand looping around his neck as she pressed her lips to his. Barry started flailing but got with the program as he put one hand on the small of her back, the other reaching up to brush his fingers against her chin, like he was hesitant. She pulled away slightly and he chased her, the hand at her chin suddenly firm as he tipped her head back and sealed their lips again. (Y/N) gasped whenever his grip on her back tightened and she let go of his tie, curling her hand in his jacket, crumpling it. Eventually, air caught up with them and they pulled away, just enough to see each other’s faces and while Barry’s was crimson, hers was the picture of satisfaction.

(Y/N) smirked and purred, “Can I call you tomorrow when I get to my place?”

Barry was still panting slightly, cheeks flushed as he nodded. “Y—yeah, I’d like that.”

She tipped her head up and kissed him again, softer and then pulled away, starting her way to the guest bedroom; she turned as she got to the doorway and smiled at him. “Goodnight, Barry, see you tomorrow.”

“Goodnight, (Y/N),” he breathed, waving weakly at her and the door shut behind her.

He swallowed thickly, still staring at the door when Hal griped, “That’s the first time I’ve ever laid it on thick to one of your dates and they didn’t go home with me.”

“Yeah,” Barry agreed, still staring.

“You’re in love with her, aren’t you, Barry?”

He grinned like a goober. “Yeah.” Barry blinked, coming back to himself, then he looked over at Hal and smiled. “Yeah, go pout. I win for once.” He didn’t wait for Hal’s response, starting to his bedroom; he glanced over his shoulder. “Night, good buddy.”

Hal huffed a laugh of disbelief and shucked his clothes down to his boxers and crawled onto the couch. “Night Bar. Now remember, if you need to have the birds and the bees talk, I can help—”

“OH MY GOD, SHUT UP! I DO NOT NEED YOU TO TELL ME ABOUT THAT!” Barry shouted and (Y/N) opened her door, poking her head out.

She grinned evilly at Hal then to Barry and promised, “Don’t worry about that, Hal, if anyone’s going to give him pointers on how it goes, it’ll be me.”

“AYE!” Hal cheered and Barry let out a howl.

“THIS IS WORSE THAN HAL STEALING MY DATES! YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO BECOME BEST FRIENDS! NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT!”

She merely winked at Hal and turned to Barry, “Night again, Barry. Sleep well…with dreams of me.”

His cheeks tinted crimson and he glared at her as he disappeared into his room with a firm, “Goodnight!”

(Y/N) snorted and glanced at Hal who was watching with amusement. “Goodnight, Hal. It was good to meet you. I hope we become good friends in the future.”

“Oh, we’ll be the best of friends in no time,” He winked as she closed her door, and Hal reached up, pulling the chain to the lamp on the side-table, turning out the light.

[smallestapplin]

(My end of semester exam is next week so I've been praying for good grades lmao

But holy shit my prayer sessions been taking longer than usual bc my thoughts keep straying to dicks balls tits ass waaaaaaaa god please have mercy i need to quickly graduate, get a job, get money, and buy custom life size ingo/emmet doll for personal reasons.)

Anyway naga emmet chasing after a poor explorer after they unfortunately piqued the silver-scaled reptile's interest. It's their own fault for going so deep in the jungle during mating season but oh how could they know a literal MYTH creature exist. This discovery would have gained them the fame they desire back home if they aren't currently running for their life here.

Emmet is definitely having fun here. His mate is playing chase with him? How exciting! Nothing like a good chase before he'd stuff them full of his clutch!

Soon they come across a dead end. Face filled with dread as they turned around. Their lungs feel like they're on fire, legs shaking as their adrenaline slowly runs out. Meanwhile, the object of their terror is looking no worse for wear. Mouth split in a terrifying grin. Truly a predator playing with his food. Looks like he's done with playing though with how fast he pounces on them. Tangling their body with his long serpent tail. Their terrified mind remembers how snakes would often squeeze the life out of their prey before eating them.

They closed their eyes, accepting their fate, that is, before they feel something hard poking their thighs. They look down and see not one, but two slender cocks jutting out of a slit from below their captor's stomach (sorry for the weird wording, i seriously don't know what that area is called in english).

And oh

Oh

Looks like they're about to get eaten in a different way.

(it's 2 am I'll write the pounding part after sleep)

Snake emmet : oh? Mate is playing! Oh how nice of mate! :D!!

Reader : oh no oh dear god, please, not how I want to die-ITS THAT A DICK?? TWO DICKS???!!!?

VINNH AT IT AGAIN OWNING MY HEART AND LEAVING ME WANTING MORE ONCE AGAIN!

GODDAMN IT!

Please, all I ask is for snake man Emmet to lovingly break his mates back (sexually) in the middle of the forest, and fuck them stupid on his cocks.

I will be damned if I don’t get double stuffed. /lh

Also you got this! I believe in you and I hope you pass! Make sure to be taking care of yourself though!

(Pelvis btw.)

(My favorite fun snake fact is that snakes can lunge half their body length, so a six foot snake can strike three feet in front of it and so on. : ) for reasons, of course.)

[katsu28]

just like old times

pairing: mcu!Peter Parker x reader

summary: Y/N runs into an old friend when returning home after a long time

warnings: none I think? I could be wrong tho so lmk if I missed anything!

a/n: I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited yet so concerned for a movie than I am for Spider-Man: No Way Home—like I’m genuinely terrified but so pumped for it

(gif found on google, credits to owner)

also yay i finally figured out how to do more than just write things on tumblr :D

Being back in New York after three, almost four years was weird. You hadn’t been home in such a long time, you almost missed being shoved around on the subway on your way back to Queens.

Your first order of business, even before visiting your parents, was to swing by Delmar’s, because holy shit, did you miss those sandwiches. Delmar’s Deli-Grocery was your go-to afterschool snack place with your then best friend Peter Parker. You and Peter went there so often, Mr. Delmar knew both your orders by heart. Sadly, you’d fallen out of touch with Peter after you graduated high school, but Delmar’s brought back good memories of splitting sandwiches and gummy worms with an old friend.

The bell above the door rang as you walked into the corner bodega, and you beelined straight for the counter. Murph the cat was curled up where he always was, rubbing his head against your hand when you scratched him behind the ears like you used to.

“Hi there, what can I—ay Dios mío!” Mr. Delmar emerged from the back, eyes widening when they landed on you. “Little Y/N L/N? Is that you?”

“Hi, Mr. Delmar!” You laughed. He rounded the counter, gathering you in a warm hug. Mr. Delmar might’ve looked a little older—as you were sure you did too—but his hugs were just like you remembered.

“It’s been so long, kid! How’ve you been? How’s college?” Mr. Delmered peppered you with question after question as he made your sandwich, and it was good that nobody else was waiting, because you ended up telling him all about your college experience so far. “Hey, do you still talk to Peter?”

“I actually haven’t kept in touch with him for a while.” You said awkwardly, shifting from foot to foot.

“Aw, I’m sorry to hear that. You two were quite the pair.” Mr. Delmar frowned, sliding your sandwich across the counter. “Between you and me, the guys and I had a bet on when you and Peter would get together.”

Your cheeks grew hot at his words, but honestly it wasn’t the first time someone had brought up the topic of you and Peter dating. Back in high school, the two of you spent so much time together, even your parents thought the two of you were a thing. You weren’t, but there was a period of time where you did have a tiny crush on Peter. It never really panned out though, and then you just fell out of contact with him.

“I hope you didn’t lose too much money, Mr. Delmar.” You chuckled, tossing a bag of gummy worms on the counter before handing him a twenty and telling him to keep the change.

“Well, you never know. Maybe you’ll bump into him while you’re here and fall in love like in those cheesy romance movies my wife loves.” Mr. Delmar shrugged, wiggling his eyebrows. “If that happens, be sure to give ol’ Delmar a visit, sí? Help me get my money back, eh?”

“You got it, sir.” You humored the old man, grabbing your food and reaching over the counter to give him another hug. “It was nice seeing you again!”

“While you’re here, don’t be a stranger, kiddo. I miss my favorite customer!”

After assuring Mr. Delmar you’d come back at least once before you left town, you exited the market. You were probably just going to eat on the way to your parents’ place, and you were really looking forward to it.

You pulled your phone out of your bag to shoot your mom a text that you were coming, rounding the corner only to run right into someone heading the other way. Your phone clattered to the ground, causing you to swear.

“Oh man, I’m so sorry—” A hand reached down to pick up your phone, and when you looked up to thank them, you were met with a familiar pair of brown eyes. “Y/N?”

“Peter!” You blurted, eyes widening. What were the odds that right after you’d been talking about him with Mr. Delmar, you’d run into him on the street?

He looked pretty much the same as he did when you saw him last, just a little taller and hair a little longer, but still the same Peter you remembered.

“Hey!” He beamed at you, handing your phone back to you. “Wow, it’s been so long since we’ve seen each other! How are you?”

“Good, good, yeah! I’m just visiting my folks for a little bit.” You nodded, feeling his ever present cheeriness already rubbing off on you. “How are you? How’s May?”

“We’re good too, yeah.” Peter bobbed his head. “You look great, by the way. I see you finally got over your hate of wearing your glasses.” He observed, gesturing to your face. You laughed, pushing your glasses up on your nose. “They’re cute.”

“Thank you, Peter. You look great too.” His eyes flicked down to the sandwich and gummy worms tucked under your arm, smiling a bit sadly as he remembered your usual after school routine from years ago.

You don’t know what possessed you to speak next—maybe it was the nostalgia of seeing Peter again—but words that came out of your mouth next surprised even you. “Hey, do you wanna split these like old times? If you’re not busy, I mean. We could catch up a little bit.”

“Yeah! Yeah, I’d like that.” A big grin split Peter’s face as he nodded a tad too enthusiastically. Your smile mirrored his as you fell into step with each other, your old route pretty much burned into the backs of your brains. Your heart even gave a little jump when Peter looped his arm through yours like he always used to do.

Crumpled wrappers and a few hours later, you and Peter had been sprawled out on the grass in Central Park catching up and trading stories about the past few years, your stomach hurting from how much Peter had made you laugh.

Unfortunately, it was starting to get dark, and you were due at your parents’ house for dinner. Peter, being the gentleman that he was, had insisted he walk you there. So now here you were, listening to Peter rave about how good the newest Star Wars movie was as you walked through the streets of Queens, and it felt like you were back in high school again.

“Hey, you okay?” Peter’s voice drew you out of your nostalgic thoughts, and you turned your head to see him peering at you with concern in his warm brown eyes. “Am I talking too much? I’m so sorry, I—”

“No, no! I was just...thinking.” You assured him.

“Oh. Okay. Penny for your thoughts?”

“I...I had a lot of fun today, Peter. With you.” You admitted, to which his lips quirked up into a smile. “But it made me wonder, why did we stop talking in the first place?”

Peter’s smile faltered a bit, and he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket. “I don’t know, honestly.” He sighed after a little while, shoulders sagging. “I guess we just grew apart.”

“Well, let’s not do that again, yeah? I missed having that annoying Peter Parker optimism in my life.”

“I so didn’t miss your cynicism.” Peter snorted, rolling his eyes. “But I did miss you, Y/N.”

“Do you wanna come over for dinner? My parents would love to see you.” You offered, tilting your head at him. “And mom’s making your favorite.”

“Pad thai???” He gasped, eyes going wide. You nodded. “Oh my god, yes!”

You’d never expected to run into Peter Parker ever again, but you were really glad that you did, because now you were on your way to having your best friend back.

[buckydeniro]

This Is Trouble

part 1

dad’sbestfriend!bucky barnes x reader

a/n: okay, i’m prettyyy new to writing and this is my first jab at writing a series or something that isn’t a hc so please be gentle with me. this could be complete shit and suck ass but ya know what, oh well! i’m a slut for dad’sbestfriend!bucky so here ya go! i really hope you enjoy it!! :-)

summary: you didn’t plan this. he didn’t either. you thought you would come home from college, spend some time with your dad, and find a place for yourself to live. but you soon found yourself in a sexual tension filled challenge with your dad’s best friend. but what happens when feelings develop and they become too strong to deny?

"Dad." You groan as he covers your eyes with his hands. You had just graduated college and after a few days spent packing up your stuff from your apartment near school and saying your goodbyes to your friends, you're finally back home. Your dad had the biggest grin on his face when he picked you up and you had a feeling he was up to something even though he swore he wasn't.

Now with his hands over your eyes in front of the door of your childhood home, you knew he was up to something.

"What's going on?" You ask, hearing the sound of people shuffling and a few shushing each other behind the door. "I know you hate surprises but you're back home so you're going to have to deal with it for the sake of your poor dad who has missed his daughter." You chuckle, a smile pulling at your lips.

You loved your dad. Your mom left when you were fairly young, hadn't even hit the double digits age range yet before her and your dad decided it was best to part ways. She never called or wrote, just left. But you made your way with your dad.

The sound of the door opening shakes you from your thoughts. Your dad removing his hands from your eyes to reveal a moderate sized group of family and friends before you.

Your eyes go big the exact moment they all yell out "Surprise!!" A red hot blush rushes to your cheeks and you smile bashfully, never having been one to like being the center of attention. You don't catch it but if you did you would have seen your dads best friend leaning against the kitchen doorway, lips moving up into a smile at your reaction.

"Okay, this was a pretty good surprise." Your smile blooms from shy and uncomfortable to happy and touched. You immediately hug your father, "Thank you. So much."

He gives you a tight squeeze causing you to choke out, "Dad." Chuckling at him as he lets go, letting air refill your lungs.

"I'm gonna give you some time with everyone. Good luck." With a kiss to the side of your head, Everyone begins rushing up, congratulating you, hugging you, commenting on how much you've grown and changed.

After nodding at one of the older womans dramatized comments about how she could hardly recognize you now, you feel someone watching you. Your eyes smoothly and quickly find Bucky, and you're almost thrown off actual physical balance at how good he looks. Holy shit. You swallow, your stomach doing a flip. Okay, what the fuck was that, stomach?

Not only have you changed but so as he. You breathe in through your nose as you take him in. The light stubble dancing on his jaw, a tight black shirt, the chains of his dog tags peaking out from the shirts collar. See he still wears those, you think to yourself. His black jeans matching his black boots have you trying not to bite your lip. You blink and quickly turn away, zoning back into the atmosphere around you.

He's always been attractive but jesus, when did he get that attractive. I guess you've both grown.

Apparently the lady, Lila, had still been talking to you, unaware your attention was pulled elsewhere for a moment. Firing questions off at you at a rapid speed, not stopping to hear your answers. So she's basically just having a conversation with herself and you've been deemed the appropriate audience for aome reason.

You hear footsteps coming towards you, flicking your eyes up, you see Bucky walking and stopping right in front of you. Oh my god. He smells amazing. No. What the fuck are you thinking? Reign it in, Y/N.

"Lila, don't wear the poor girl out." His bright, friendly smile drifting from her to you and you can't help the smile mirroring his on your lips. "Oh, I'm not." She chides, squeezing your arm softly with affection, "But I'll go." She playfully sighs and walks away.

Bucky's eyes haven't left yours, that contagious smile still on his face. "Welcome home, kid." That Brooklyn drawl has you biting your lip as you smile. It was a completely innocent movement, a habit you picked up a few years ago but it causes Bucky to look down at your lips, quickly flicking his gaze back to you as he inhales, mentally shaking thoughts from his head.

"Thank you, Mr. Barnes." You say politely. Bucky pulls a face and laughs, causing you to laugh along with him. Why is everything he does so contagious? He shakes his head as he speaks. "No, no, kid. Call me Bucky."

You nod your head once before pulling a face of your own. "Okay, but you can't call me 'kid' anymore. I'm 22, Bucky." The new 'title' leaving your mouth like an acception to a challenge.

He nods his head, lifting his hands up in mock defence, smirking at the way you said his name.

"Okay, okay. I got it. Y/N." His voice falls soft, almost sounding like he just found out what your name was and was calling you by it for the first time.

"Ah, Y/N, see you've caught up with Buck." Your dad grins, slapping a friendly hand on Bucky's shoulder. "Come on, party is out back."

Steve leads the way, both you and Bucky following. You purse your lips, fighting off a smile and Bucky snorts. "Party." You say quietly, glancing at Bucky as he retorts back speaking quietly so your dad doesn't hear, "Oh yeah, it's raging, can't you tell? Might just give them college parties of yours a run for their money."

You hum in acknowledgement, "You might be right, Barnes. But, I have been to some good ones."

"Barnes, huh?" You can't quite read the look on his face. All you know is that you're both looking at each other with some kind of playfulness, like the beginning of a new game has just started and you're on opposing sides.

"Mhm. Barnes." You overly dictate the 'B' in his name, drawing the 'A' out a bit, making a clicking sound with the side of your mouth, your focus forward.

Your dad turns around, clapping you softly on the shoulder, "Have fun, hon. One of the guys is calling for me. Sam! I'm coming!" You watch as your dad huffs, jogging up to his friend, swatting the spatula away from his hands, focus on the grill Sam was, I guess, butchering.

"So, you still do that." You turn your head back to Bucky, furrowing your eyebrows a little, tilting your head slightly, confusion lightly appearing on your face. "Do what?"

He puts his gloved covered hands into his jacket pockets, clearing his throat, "You make that sound when you're focusing on something or are nervous." There's a slight pause before he speaks up again. "You nervous with the get together or bein' back home or somethin'?"

You didn't realize you even did that. You were a little nervous but it wasn't because of the party your dad threw for you. It was because of Bucky. It's a good nervous but it confuses you none the less.

"Yeah. Just being back home." You nod, lips tugging up at the corner for a smile. "The change and everything."

Bucky doesn't look quite convinced but lets it go. Your attention is drawn forward, wanting to look anywhere but Bucky. The way he looks at you was fogging up your brain.

"You still wear the dog tags."

This time he tilts his head, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards. "I can notice things too, Bucky." You whisper with a smile, your attention turning back to him, causing him to chuckle.

"Well, they are mine, Doll." You both freeze. Fuck, he thinks. It just slipped out. He couldn't help it. He's fucked it now, shit. But you chew on your bottom lip, fighting back a smile but the hint of it is there and Bucky catches it and feels as if he can breathe again.

"Doll, huh?" You repeat his words back to him.

With a slight cocky tilt of his head, a subtle smirk and something dancing in both of your eyes, he throws it right back at you. Repeating your own words, the exact way you said them to him, "Mhm. Doll."

Before you could react, say anything, he had turned and casually walked away, yelling a hello at one of his and your dad's old friends and although you couldn't see his face, he had the biggest smirk on it. You let out a breath, not knowing what to make of yours and his interaction.

It was Bucky. Just Bucky. Your dad's best friend. He was just being friendly and teasing. Normal. But as you walk to grab a beer from the cooler near by, you can't help but question a little, "Right?"

Straightening your back, you feel eyes on you and you immediately know whose they are. Turning your head, you lock eyes with the brown haired man, taking a swig of his beer.

Your brain repeating the question again, "..Right?"

[lovely-ateez]

Broken Strings~

ꕥPosted: 7/20/21

ꕥGenre: Fluff, Angst, Smut, College!au, Rockstar!au

ꕥPairing: Fem!Reader x Rockstar!Yunho

ꕥWord Count: 10k+

ꕥWarnings (please read all!!): Yunho’s ex is an absolute asshat, death threats towards both Yunho and reader, mention of knives used as weapons, San is a bisexual king (happy late pride month), unprotected pool sex/public sex (no one is around but I guess it still counts), masturbation (f), foul language, mentions of alcohol intake, reader is mentioned to have dark brown eyes several times which you can just ignore if you have different colored eyes ofc, mentions of a restraining order against an ex, please let me know if I missed something!!

ꕥTag List: @cappujinho @bobateastay @nevieatiny 

ꕥA/N: The song lyrics are ones that I wrote myself specifically for this au and I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t nervous about posting it. I know there isn’t any tune or anything, but hopefully it sounds like a real song someone might sing. Also I’m not writing angst for a while after this holy shit I’ve been crying too much over this I’m emotional okay

“Date night! Date night! Date night!” I grabbed my boyfriend’s arm, bouncing on my toes.

Yunho raised a hand to cover his ear, scrunching his face, “Babe, I love you, but I think you’ve deafened me.”

I pouted at his tone and crossed my arms, “You’re such a grump.”

“Oh whatever.” He smiled, “You ready?”

I smiled at him and nodded.

Ever since his band, Sidekick Heart, began to pick up traction, he had less free time and our full-day dates once a week soon became date nights every few weeks. Most of his time was spent writing songs, producing them, and practicing endlessly. The fact that he had a tour coming up soon just meant he had even less spare time. I was happy for him, of course, but I couldn’t hide my disappointment that he was leaving.

In middle school, he and three of his friends formed a band for fun, which they kept with all throughout high school. They got good, really good and almost right after they graduated they were signed by a label. Now, three years later, they’d already released two albums and one EP and earned enough money to make a living, which was why Yunho dropped out of college a month ago. Since he had steady career path, he saw no reason to continue and decided to focus on music. He still visited me at college whenever he got the chance, but his visits were becoming more and more sporadic.

We started dating freshman year of college. We had our difficulties as most couples do, but everyday I thanked the stars for pairing us together. I met him on the first day of French class, a day I know I could never forget, no matter how how our future played out.

I sat my backpack on the table in front of me, looking around the empty classroom. I was ten minutes early, so I wasn’t surprised about the lack of students. It was a bit unlikely for me to be so early, but I wasn’t able to sleep the night before and so I had extra time to get ready. With nothing else to do, I took out my phone, reading some missed text messages.

I heard the door open and my head tilted upwards, meeting eyes with a fluffy-haired brunet. He shyly smiled at me and I returned the gesture. The man took a seat in the front row across from me, only a few chairs in between us. I found it cute that he liked to sit in the front of the classroom, too. Very few people did. He turned away from me to place his backpack on the floor and take out a few books. I took the opportunity to look at him. He was attractive, for sure. His short sleeved solid black shirt followed his movements, tattoos peaking through his top. The shirt itself tucked was into ripped jeans, his black shoes matching the outfit, along with various accoutrements. His look was uncommon for college students, most just wore sweatpants with with a casual shirt. I thanked myself for dressing nice that day.

I tilted my head to get a better look at his side profile. He was so handsome that I seemed to forget I was staring. I couldn’t help but get caught up in him, not realizing that I was no longer being subtle.

He spoke without moving to face me, “You’re pretty cute, too.”

“I-I what?” My eyes widened, realizing I’d been caught.

He turned, a charming smile on his face, “You aren’t exactly discreet.”

I took a breath, trying to form a coherent sentence, “Well...can you blame me?”

He pursed his lips, trying to hide a smile, “I appreciate the compliment. What’s your name?”

I hesitated before answering him, which brought a full smile to his face. He moved closer to me before holding out his hand for me to shake. I grabbed his hand and shook it, trying to keep my hands steady. His hand was soft, clearly he took care of himself.

“I’m Yunho.”

I smiled, observing the way he lit up as he turned my hand, placing a delicate kiss on my skin. I felt my face heat up and averted my eyes. Yunho chuckled as he released my hand. Both of us looked up at the sound of the door opening, a group of students entered, followed by a lady who I presumed to be the teacher.

Yunho looked at me, “Meet me after class?”

I nodded, biting my lip as I felt excitement build in my stomach, wanting nothing more than for class to end as soon as possible.

The instant the teacher ended her lecture she left with the rest of the students, who were talking among themselves. My eyes flickered to Yunho to find him looking back at me, his backpack now thrown over his shoulders.

“You have any classes after this?” He asked in a nonchalant manner. Later he confessed to me that he was far more nervous than he appeared, claiming that he fell in love with me at first sight.

I finished placing my notebook in my bag, zipping it up and putting the straps over my arms, “Yeah, unfortunately. I’ve got World Politics in ten minutes.” 

“Aww damn. I was hoping we could grab some food.” He reached into his pants’ pocket, pulling out his phone, “Maybe I could get your number instead and we could meet up later?” He wasn’t pushy or demanding, simply asking.

I nodded quickly, “I’d like that, Yunho.”

He suddenly became more shy, the tips of his ears dusting a beautiful shade of pink, “I like the way you say my name.”

I giggled, trying to hide my own shyness. I took his phone and entered my number, really hoping that he would text me. As if he read my mind, he confirmed what I was thinking.

“I’ll text you,” He looked at me with sparkling eyes before shaking his head, like he was pulled back to reality, “Oh uh...you should probably get to class.“ He raised a hand, somewhat awkwardly scratching the back of his head.

“Yeah I probably should. I’ll see you around?”

He smiled, “I’ll see ya.”

-

It wasn’t long before he texted me, and it made my heart flutter that he kept his word. A day later we met up, grabbing ice cream and getting to know each other. He was a dance major and had to practically beg his parents to let him pursue dance. In return they said he had to repay them with getting straight A’s. He had one younger brother who was possibly the biggest baseball fan to ever exist, he roomed with three men he’d been friends with since kindergarten, and he absolutely adored my brown eyes.

“They’re just beautiful.” Yunho gushed, “Both times I’ve seen you they just sparkle and shine like they’ve got their own little galaxies in them. I’ve never seen anyone with such genuine, kind eyes.”

I let out a girly laugh at the compliment and covered my mouth with a hand, “You’re really trying to flatter me, aren’t you?”

“Depends. Is it working?” He laughed as he propped his head on one of his hands, leaning closer to me in the booth we were sitting in. We’d finished our ice cream long ago, now shamelessly flirting and getting lost in each other.

“It might be.”

“Well I do mean it. I’m not only trying to flatter you.”

The ringing of his phone caught our attention. He smiled apologetically and reached for the device. He sighed, reading the contact name and looking back up at me.

“I’m sorry I’ve gotta take this. It’s one of my roommates and it’s entirely possible they’ve set the house on fire.”

I laughed, “It’s okay, go ahead.”

Yunho excused himself as he answered the call, walking outside. I took a look around the shop we were in, smiling at all the decorations when I noticed a woman sitting alone, eating ice cream and staring at me. Her eyes were such an ice blue that they made her intimidating, to say the least. I wasn’t too surprised, I’d dressed nice and all throughout the day I’d been getting looks. Taking it as a compliment I smiled at her and waited for Yunho to return.

“So good news,” He started as he sat back down in the booth, running a hand through his hair, which was way more attractive than it should’ve been, “They haven’t burnt down the apartment, but San—he’s one of my roommates—his car ran out of gas a few miles away from here so I’ve gotta go help him. Can I drive you back to your own apartment first?”

“Oh no, I don’t want to worry you.” I waved a hand, “I can have a friend pick me up.”

He nodded, “If you’re more comfortable with that, sure, but I’d rather drive you home, if that’s okay.”

I nodded, walking with him as he guided me out to his car. We had our first kiss when he dropped me off, leaving me with the promise of another date, and he delivered. Time and time again he proved he truly cared about me, which inevitably led to a relationship.

We heard a loud crashing in the basement of the house and Yunho let out a frustrated groan, “Oh god it’s happening again.”

He walked over to the basement door, opening it and sighing at the loud yells emitting from below.

“What is it this time?” Yunho shouted.

Wooyoung’s voice rung out, “San won’t let me use the controller!”

The man in front of me placed a hand over his eyes, over the situation entirely, “You’re still fighting over that game?”

“Crash Bandicoot waits for no man!”

“San let him have the controller or I’ll come down there and I’ll beat both of your asses!” Yunho shut the door, giving me a tired smile and walking back to me, “You’d think we would’ve outgrown this stage by now. I’d fire them both and hire a new bassist and drummer if I could.”

“Okay that’s an absolute lie, and you say that like you’re any better. I saw you arguing with Seonghwa over the last bag of chips yesterday.”

He pointed a finger at me, not trying to hide the smile on his face, “Okay that was absolutely valid. I bought those and they were mine.”

I smirked. “My point still stands.”

He rolled his eyes playfully, changing the subject, “How about after our date I sing you a couple of our new songs?” He leaned closer, his lips barely grazing my ear, “I wrote a few about you.”

I pulled back from him, feeling warmth spread in my chest. “Really? You did?”

Yunho wrapped an arm around my waist, “How could I not? You’re always my inspiration.”

I let out a string of incoherent gibberish which prompted the most adorable eye smiles from my boyfriend. I felt too honored to put my emotions into words.

“Go on.” Yunho motioned to the front door, “Grab your purse and head out to my car. I’ll let the guys know we’re going and I’ll meet you outside.”

I gave him a salute, “You got it cap’n!”

His eyes warmed, “God, I love you.”

“I know!” I teased before I grabbed my purse and skipped out of the house. The sun would be setting soon and I admired the several hues that were painted within the sky. I sat on the hood of his car, swinging my feet as I saw him walk out of the house.

“So where exactly are we going?” I tilted my head, looking forward to his response.

“Well I’ve got a couple ideas.” He held up his long fingers and counted off on them, “We could go bowling, or we could have a late night picnic, or maybe...” He moved closer, placing his hands on either side of me with a mischievous grin, “We could go swimming.”

My face lit up, “I haven’t been swimming in forever!”

“I know, that’s why I recommended it.” He laughed, “Let’s break into the swimming pool downtown. It’s definitely closed by now so we can be alone.”

I raised my brows at his words, a smile widening on my face, “Don’t we need to bring swimsuits, though?”

Yunho grinned at me and moved a hand to ruffle my hair, “Nope. We’re going without ‘em.” He lifted me off his car, “Hop in, babe.”

-

We approached the fence with our hands interlocked, a new message greeting us. A red and black sign with the words ‘No Trespassing’ was attached haphazardly to one of the metal wires looped through the fence surrounding the pool.

Yunho tsked, “Aw that’s cute. Like that’s gonna keep us out. This is basically our pool anyways.” 

I laughed, both of us knowing full well there was no method of security beyond the sign and fence. The pool had never installed security cameras and after word spread that the owner had a fear of advancing technology, we had no worry of being caught.

He cupped his hands, holding them out for me to step on. I placed my foot on his hands as he lifted me up, helping me scale the fence. I stepped back, feeling a thrill as Yunho jumped over. It was probably the fourth or fifth time we’d done this, but each time was just as exciting. We walked over to the edge of the pool, its light blue water and the dark blue of the sunset opposing one another but making a beautiful visual.

“Alright, off we go.” Yunho’s fingers danced to the hem of my shirt, then pulling it off and ridding me of the layer of clothing. He pressed several kisses to the exposed skin, making me shiver.

Yunho then pulled back from me, slowly removing his shirt and giving me a teasing look when he caught me staring at his abs, “I look good, don’t I?”

“Shut up,” I laughed, lightly slapping his strong, tattooed arm before removing my skirt, enjoying the way my boyfriend’s eyes devoured me. I returned the action when I saw him remove his jeans, something he was clearly enjoying as well.

I turned back to the pool only to be thrown over Yunho’s shoulders. He let out a string of laughs as I struggled to get down, fearing that he would throw me into the water.

“If you throw me into the pool I’ll kill you!” I laughed, squirming on his shoulders.

“No...I would never do something like that.” I wasn’t even facing him, but I could hear the smile in his voice, which was my only indication that he was about to throw me into pool.

Before I could try to make any sort of escape, he tossed me into the water. It was cold, but less cold than I expected it to be. I coughed up a bit of water as I resurfaced and when I opened my eyes I squinted at Yunho, annoyed at how attractive he looked with the evil smirk on his face.

“You’re a jerk.” I said with no venom behind my words.

“Yeah, yeah. Brace yourself I’m coming in.”

I barely had time to move before he jumped in, his legs tucked to his chest. “Cannonball!”

I moved my hands in front of my face to block the wave of water coming my way, not feeling any surprise about my boyfriend’s childish behavior. When he resurfaced he faced me with a smile, wading towards me, embracing me in his arms, and wrapping my legs around his waist. He was so tall that he could reach the bottom of the pool without having to swim, unlike me, where I was no near reaching the bottom and needed to swim in place. With a satisfied hum he pressed several wet kisses to my neck.

“I love you,” he mumbled, his voice muffled by my skin.

“I love you too, babe.” I hesitated before I said my next words, still overwhelmed at how strong my feelings were for him, “You’re the love of my life.”

He pulled back with a bright smile on his face, his eyes shining almost as if he was tearing up, “I knew you were the love of my life the moment I saw you. And you’re all mine.” Yunho said before he placed a delicate kiss to my lips.

“All yours, babe.”

His long fingers danced along my sides, grabbing at my hips as he began to attack my chest with kisses. I giggled as the feeling of his stubble tickled my skin.

“You know, you really ‘oughta shave before you get a full beard.”

“Why? Are you saying I wouldn’t look good with one?”

I cupped his face, “You’d look amazing with one, but I thought you didn’t like beards, babe?”

“Hate ‘em.” Yunho’s laugh echoed around us, “Really weird that men can grow them in the first place. But anyways...”

His hands made quick work of my bra, letting it sink to the bottom of the pool. I opened my mouth to scold him but before I could his mouth latched to my right nipple, sucking and nipping on it in a way that made my hands seek out his hair and tug harshly at his locks. Letting out a growl, Yunho placed one hand on the the pool wall for balance and the other on my back, drawing abstract shapes there.

Yunho moved to my other nipple, giving it the same treatment and smiling when he heard my moans. In a flash he removed his hand from my back and pressed me against the pool wall, his hand now traveling to my panties.

As he removed the final item of clothing he ran a finger over my clit, giggling to himself. I gave him a look and he clarified, “Babe, you’re wet enough to fill an entire swimming pool.”

I groaned, pressing my head into his chest, “You make that same god awful joke every time we come here.”

“And as such I couldn’t let tradition die.”

“Shut up and fuck me.” I laughed, promptly helping him out of his boxers.

He continued to tease me after, switching between playing with my clit and stretching me out with his long fingers. By the time he finally gave in, I was a whimpering, pathetic mess, begging for more.

As he aligned with my walls he looked at me with delicate eyes, “Ready, little flower?”

I nodded quickly, chanting ‘yes’ over and over. Yunho once again placed a hand on the wall and hooked one of my legs over his waist, allowing him to thrust deeper inside me. He held my hand with his free one, a simple action that always melted my heart. Despite how long we’d been together, I would always get overwhelmed by him so easily. Everything about him exuded such a strong aura that sometimes just the smallest kiss would leave me breathless. The first time we were intimate he took his hand in mine and assured me he would be gentle, and every time since he’s held my hand. It wouldn’t feel right without our hands together.

“Shit—it’s been way too long since we’ve done this.” I said as he snapped his hips into mine, quickly repeating the action.

“God I know.” He let out a pained groan at the thought of it, “Four months is gonna be fucking awful without you.”

“Guess we’ll have to make do with what we’ve got now.”

“Guess we will.”

The sounds of water splashing and the echos of our moans, a symphony I had become so familiar with, was gradually reaching its crescendo. It was getting harder to keep my eyes open but I forced them to be, needed to memorize everything about this moment. The sweat dripping down Yunho’s forehead, the tattooed muscles he was flexing, the sounds and praise he was emitting, and pleasure we were both feeling--I wouldn’t see nor feel this for the next four months.

A particular snap of his hips had me seeing stars and I called out to him, letting him know I was close. Within minutes, both of us were panting and reeling from our highs. Yunho pressed his nose against mine and both of us closed our eyes, enjoying each other’s presence.

“How come every time we come here it ends in sex?” I giggled.

He blinked and moved a strand of wet hair out of my face, “Because you’re hot and barely wearing any clothes and no one’s around.”

I blushed at his compliment, “I mean like I’m not complaining or anything.”

A cocky smile formed on Yunho’s face, “Well it certainly didn’t sound like you were a moment ago.”

“Yunho!”

The man laughed, lifting me up and spinning me around in the pool before cradling me in his arms.

“I hate to say it, but we do need to head back. The world awaits for us, I’m afraid.”

I sighed, pressing into his chest, “I’m gonna miss you.”

He stilled as he pulled me closer, “I’m gonna miss you, too. You don’t have to miss me yet, though.”

“I know.” I swallowed, wishing I had something more to say.

“Come on, then.” Yunho gave me a quick kiss, “Let’s head back.”

-

Yunho held the front door open for me, giving me a gentle slap on my ass when I walked through. I turned around and gave him a playfully annoyed look, which he only laughed at.

As we walked towards the living room, the sound of a random sitcom filled our ears. Six heads turned our way after hearing our footsteps. Seonghwa was resting his head against his long-time girlfriend. She was a sweet girl and complimented him more than any woman I’d seen him with. They really were soulmates, if they ever existed.

San was sitting holding hands with a man he’d been interested in for awhile. I’d often see him flirting with various men and women, but he never went any further than that, too afraid of commitment. This man; however, seemed to breaking through San’s walls. I really hoped they would work out, San deserved someone as kind as him.

Wooyoung sat across from the them, who acknowledged us first.

“Hey guys. Have fun?” Wooyoung asked, smiling at my soaked hair. He had his arm around a woman I’d never seen before and I was certain that none of us would ever see her again. He had the reputation of a playboy, and every poor woman thought they’d be the one exception, the one to make him stay. I’m sure the allure of being a drummer in a band was part of his appeal, too. Maybe one day, like San, he’d settle down.

The woman became visibly upset when Wooyoung looked me with a teasing glance. Feeling sympathy for her, I decided to do my best to calm her nerves.

I spoke for us, linking hands with my boyfriend. “Yeah, we did. I think we’re gonna go clean up though.” I looked at the woman, “I’m y/n, by the way. I’m Yunho’s girlfriend.”

She didn’t even try to hide the relief on her face. “Oh! I’m Solar. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Yeah,” Wooyoung started, “Best girlfriend he’s ever had. Much better for him than Lucy.”

Yunho glared at the man, “Thought we agreed not to bring her up?”

Lucy, the woman Yunho dated before me, was arguably the scariest person I’d ever heard about. They dated for roughly three months before she became obsessive, to the point where Yunho had to get a restraining order against her. She threatened to hurt all of Yunho’s friends and family, all because she wanted Yunho all to herself. That was about all Yunho ever told me about her. Not that I complained. I didn’t exactly want to discuss his exes, even more so when they were that crazy.

I never told him, but I knew I saw her the first date we went on. I could see the way her piercing, ice eyes saw through me. I had no doubt it was her. I just hope I’d never see her again. Maybe now that she saw he was taken she’d leave us alone. There was an uncomfortable silence following, none of us knowing what to say until San spoke.

“You look like a wet dog, Yunho.” San joked, prompting laughter from a few of us, which seemed like more of a noise of relief rather than one of actual humor.

“Yeah, yeah.” My boyfriend relaxed his shoulders, “I think we’re gonna head in for the night so don’t make too much noise.” Waving them goodbye he caught up with me, placing a hand around my waist.

“Shower with me, doll.”

I placed a hand on his chest, “I would love to.”

-

I came out of the shower wearing my favorite large shirt of Yunho’s, drying my wet hair with a towel. The smell of chlorine had gone away for the most part; whatever chemicals the owner put in that pool always made the smell harder to get rid of. Only a small price to pay, I figured.

My boyfriend, who was much quicker than I was, looked up from his phone as he was splayed out across his bed. His tired eyes smiled at me while motioning me over. Yunho’s own hair was still drying and with his bare face and crooked smile, he was as handsome as he could ever be.

“Hey there.”

“Hey, sweetheart.” He reached an arm out to me, pulling me against him when I took his hand, “How ya feeling?”

“Tired.” I hummed, sleepily smiling against his neck.

“Too tired to listen to the song I wrote for you?”

“No! Not at all.”

Yunho chuckled, slowly brushing my hair aside and turning his head to look at me. As he had countless times, he took a breath before he turned to me, beginning to sing.

“You give me fireworks

I’ll give you the kindest words, my dear

Your love caught me

The moment I met your eyes

And how could I not fall?

Your heart bared, no disguise”

I fought to stay awake although his melodic voice seemed to be lulling me to sleep. I felt myself losing consciousness, but managed to catch the last few lyrics he sang to me.

“Now I sunbathe in the daybreak

Half asleep, half awake

Writing this song

As I hope I’ll dream of you”

Yunho brushed his fingertips brush against my face before he spoke, “Goodnight, flower.”

I muttered some form of a “goodnight” before I felt sleep take over me, nuzzling happily against my boyfriend.

-

I woke up in a panic, unsure why my heart was beating so fast until I looked at the clock. Eleven in the morning. I was an hour later than I should’ve been at my job. It seemed that even unconscious my body knew I was late.

“Oh shit I’m gonna be late for work!” I spoke with wide eyes.

Jumping from Yunho’s bed I stripped myself of his shirt and quickly threw my clothes on. The body that laid beside me stirred, moving the covers aside.

“Are you leaving?” He asked sleepily, his face puffy from sleep and an adorable pout on his lips.

I frowned, “Yeah. I’m sorry we didn’t get to spend more time together, babe.”

He shook his head, “Don’t worry about it. Both of us slept in.”

I tied my hair back, sighing. I was so caught up in my thoughts I almost missed Yunho’s question.

“Sorry what was that?”

He smiled, “You’re coming to our going away party tomorrow, right?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” I moved back to the bed and hugged him, feeling my heart sink. I was proud of him, I really was, yet couldn’t help but feel sad that I wouldn’t see him for so long.

This was the longest tour they’d ever gone on and we’d never been apart from each other that long before. I trusted him and I was confident in our relationship, but realistically, all members of Sidekick Heart were attractive young men and a good portion of their fans were female. I was far more concerned about the female audience doing something than I was about Yunho making a move on another woman.

With one last squeeze of his shoulders I pulled back, goodbyes beginning to fall from my lips before Yunho pulled me back.

“I need a goodbye kiss.”

I pressed my lips together with a smile, gladly indulging him. Giving him one last kiss against the lips, I bid him farewell until the following day.

-

“So how was work?” My roommate asked as I walked in the house, propping her feet up on our couch and tossing a kernel of corn into her mouth, the lighting of the TV illuminating her blanket-covered body.

I sighed, sitting down on the floor next to her, “Other than being an hour and a half late and missing an important meeting I think it went okay. I’m just glad the day’s over.” Rubbing a hand over my face I turned to her, “What about you? How was your day?”

“Pretty damn good actually.” She smiled, removing the blanket and showing me the new ink on her upper arm. It was an assortment of flowers and matched her bubbly personality perfectly. They were now the fifth adornment on her beautiful dark skin, each one of them tempting me more and more to get a few of my own.

“Another one already, Tiff?”

“Listen, you’ll know how addicting they get as soon as you get your first.”

“You sound so confident that I will.”

“Oh I know you will. You’re dating a rockstar, after all. Not to mention he’s the goddamn lead singer and has tattoos of his own.”

“Shut up.” I giggled, “Speaking of, are you coming to the farewell party tomorrow?”

“I plan on it, but I’ll probably be there a couple hours late. My dad’s flying into town for the weekend so I plan on visiting first. I’m definitely coming though.”

I hummed, “Yeah, don’t worry too much about it. We all know it’ll go till sunrise anyway.”

She let out a loud laugh, likely remembering the last party of theirs we went to where she ended up more drunk than I’d ever seen her. She claims she remembers flashes of the night; playing strip beer pong and being dared to steal one of the neighbor’s bushes—which, after much convincing from those who were sober, she decided against it—but didn’t recall half of the hilarious memories of her the rest of us did. Personally, my favorite was watching her hold a tomato soup can and cry over the fact that it could never have children.

Tiff let out a yawn as she stretched her arms above her head, turning in my direction. Her words were muffled by her yawn as she spoke, “Imma go to bed now. You good before I go?”

I smiled at her, “Yeah I’m good. I won’t stay up too much longer, just need to go through my nightly routine of looking at the stars, ya know, the usual.”

She nodded, wrapping the blanket around her and heading to her bedroom, “Sleep well, babe. I’ll see ya tomorrow.”

“Back at ya.”

It was a habit of mine, gazing at the night sky before sleeping. It gave me comfort knowing that out there, somewhere, there was something else out there with me. Almost like I wasn’t going through everything alone.

I set my purse down when I reached our kitchen, reaching for a tea pot and tea bags, brainlessly brewing my favorite tea as I thought of what Yunho might be doing right now. It was probably most likely that he was practicing for their tours, but I could only hope he was getting a little bit of rest.

I stepped out onto our porch to look at the stars with a cup of tea in my hands, the night sky twinkling with all the stars it could offer. A slight breeze rustled my hair and I closed my eyes, thankful for the pleasant weather. I heard a sudden snap of a branch and my eyes quickly opened as I searched out property for any sign of an aggressive animal. My eyes finally landed on a human-like figure. Feeling adrenaline run though me, I decided to confront whoever or whatever it was.

“Who are you? What are you doing here?” I spoke, my voice loud but not quite a yell.

The figure took off it’s hood to show their face, and I saw a familiar pair of ice blue eyes, though I hadn’t seen them in years, “I’m here to see you, of course.”

My brain quickly connected her to the woman I hoped I’d never see again.

Lucy.

“Well I don’t want to see you. Leave.”

She pressed a hand to her chest, feigning offense, “But I came all this way! Just to...say hello.”

I took a step towards her, hoping that if I appeared confrontational she would leave me alone. “I don’t know who you are, now please leave. I’m not going to say it again.”

“Oh, you poor girl. You really think you have the upper hand?” She pulled out a knife, and walked towards me at impressive speed, pointing the weapon at my throat. “I know you’ve been seeing Yunho. I. Don’t. Like. That.” She emphasized every word of the last sentence, anger woven within her voice.

I wanted to fight back. Everything in me was screaming to fight back, but I knew I had no chance. I had no idea what she was capable of, and I didn’t dare to find out.

“I dated him first and he’s still mine. You’re going to break up with him, you hear me?” She screamed in my ear, the sound shaking me to my core, “I never want to see you near him again.” She grabbed my jaw harshly, forcing my eyes to lock with hers. “I bet he doesn’t even love you.”

My eyes watered. I knew she was wrong, but with the adrenaline coursing through my veins and the harshness of her words I began to doubt myself.

Her grip tightened and I let out a yelp, “He loves me and I love him. He’s always loved me, not you. Why would he ever love a thing like you?”

She then threw me to the ground, towering over me, “Break up with him. Make him hate you. If you don’t,” She squatted down next to me, once more pointing the knife at my throat, “I’ll kill him myself and make you watch. Then,” She cocked her head, a crazed smile plastered on her face, “I’ll kill you. If I can’t have him, no one can.” She stood, smirking at me, “And you know I will.”

She kicked me in the stomach, watching as I crawled into myself, groaning from the pain. I closed my eyes, hoping she wouldn’t hurt me any more than she already had.

“I’ll be watching you at the party tomorrow. Do it then. Break his heart. I’ll kill him then and there if you don’t.” She looked down at me and scoffed, “And I’ll be bringing friends to make sure the job gets done.”

I carefully opened my eyes to see her stepping over me, walking back into the darkness from which she came. I scrambled back into my house, hyperventilating from the interaction I just had.

I spent the night crying, not able to sleep even for a minute. I tried to think rationally, but there were just too many variables. How many ‘friends’ was she bringing? Would she really kill Yunho in front of everyone? Where would she be watching me from? Is she watching me now?

I could text or call Yunho to let him know, but where would we go from there? He’d want to meet me and she’d kill him instantly. Right?

“Maybe I could pull him aside at the party and warn him?” I murmured to myself, “No, she could probably see that. Maybe there’s people actually at the party who are looking out for us, too.” I covered my face with my hands and fell back into my pillows, weeping as I knew I had to break up with the love of my life.

-

Choosing to wear a yellow dress honestly couldn’t have been more ironic. Yellow was supposed to be a happy color. A color of hope and yearning, innocence and warm days full of laughter. It was the complete antithesis of how I felt and what I knew I had to do. Even worse, the weather was perfect. It was sunny, but not so much to make it unbearable outside. Everything about today made my insides twist.

I took a breath at the door of Yunho’s house, bracing myself for what I had to do. Knocking a few times I heard a commotion inside before the man I came to see opened the door. His smile had never been bigger.

“Baby!” He cheered, pulling me into a bear hug and ruffling my styled hair, “I’m so excited you’re here!”

He looks so ecstatic. And I have to break him.

The thought crushed me and brought tears to my eyes, but I couldn’t let him die. I knew she was serious, I didn’t doubt that for a moment. I grabbed Yunho’s arm, pulling him outside and away from everyone in the house.

I looked at the ground as I felt my lips begin to quiver, “I’m sorry. I just need to get this over with.”

Yunho bent down to meet my eyes, “Hey, hey. What’s going on sweetheart?” His voice was gentle, one of his hands coming to rub the tears from my face, “I’m here for you, whatever it is.”

I looked down, unable to look him in the eyes. I hated myself more than I’d ever hated anyone. “I don’t love you, Yunho.” My hands began to shake beyond my control, my own body knowing I was making a mistake.

“W-what?” Yunho’s voice cracked. A moment of silence passed before he let out a hollow laugh, “Baby, you don’t mean that-”

I looked up at him and immediately wished I hadn’t. Tears were welling in his eyes, his own hands beginning to shake.

“I said I don’t love you Yunho!” I said louder than I intended, “Not anymore. I don’t want to be with you. I’m sorry.”

He took a step back and I noticed his hands clenching, something he always did to keep himself from crying.

“If that’s what you want,” Tears fell from his eyes before he finished his sentence, “Then I’ll support your decision.” He looked to the side, not knowing what else to say.

I wanted nothing more than to throw myself in his arms and explain everything, tell him that I’ve never stopped loving him, not even for a second, but I couldn’t. Instead, I wiped away my tears with the back of my hand and looked at him one last time. He was so fucking handsome, so goddamn kind, and here I was doing this to him. Maybe he did deserve someone better.

“Good luck with your tour, Yunho. I know you’ll be fantastic.”

I turned and walked away from him quickly, leaving the house and ignoring the stare I could feel on me. I ran across the yard to my car, starting the engine and leaning my head against the steering wheel. I felt myself lose all oxygen in my body, the only option left to take large gasps of air. My vision was so clouded by tears I couldn’t even see anymore. I’d just lost myself along with my other half. I’d never felt as empty as I did in that moment.

Just then I heard a knocking on my window. I half-hardheartedly lifted my head and felt my heart lurch. Yunho was standing outside my car, eyes red and puffy, looking at me like I was the last person he’d ever see. I opened my car without thinking, my breathing still as uneven as before.

Yunho spoke, his voice coarse and distant, “I’m not asking you to change your mind, but I need you to know that I have always loved you and I always will. That will never change.”

I wiped the snot from my nose but didn’t bother to try and fix the mascara I knew was streaming down my face. I knew I had to look horrible, but he still held so much love for me that it was easy to see in his eyes. I fought myself to not reply, knowing that if I’d open my mouth all I’d say was ‘I love you’ over and over again.

“Is it too out of line to ask for a last hug?” He smiled sadly as more tears poured from his eyes.

I shook my head, running into his arms and embracing him. I felt like I made a mistake the moment I did because I could smell him. He was wearing the cologne I bought him for his birthday. His warm, sturdy chest...everything about him felt like home.

“Goodbye, Yunho.”

-

I arrived at home alone, tears still stinging my eyes. Tiff was nowhere to be found and I couldn’t decide if I was thankful or sad for the fact that she wasn’t there. I barely made it out to our porch before collapsing once again, finding it harder and harder to breathe. I didn’t know how long I was sitting there, it could’ve been one hour or three, but given the setting sun it looked like it was the latter. Once more I heard a noise outside our home, and once more the female figure appeared before me.

“You did good,” Lucy said, twirling her knife in her hands, “Dare I say I’m proud of you.”

“I don’t ever want to see you here again.” I cried, “I did what you want now get the fuck away from me.”

“My, my. You have quite the mouth on you, don’t you?” She tsked, “But you did as I asked, so I might as well comply. Don’t; however, think that you can go crawling back to Yunho and tell him about this. I’ll keep watching you and if you decide to do just that...I’ll follow through with my promise.”

I kept my eyes on the ground, convinced that if I looked up at her I’d attempt to rip the hair out of her head. No anger I had ever felt before could surmount to the rage I was feeling.

“Nonetheless, it was a pleasure doing business with you, miss.”

As soon as she came, she was gone. When I finally let myself look up, I could no longer see her, only darkness. Once again, I was alone.

-

Six months had passed since I broke up with Yunho and today officially made the third new date I’d went on. All of them were absolutely horrible. It wasn’t even that the guys were mean or rude or weren’t attractive, they just weren’t him.

Why am I even trying to move on?

I looked at myself in the mirror. My eyes looked heavy, the bags under my eyes ever prominent. I couldn’t fool myself. I’d never be able to be with another man again. I forced myself to hold back tears and reached back to untie my hair, preparing to take a bath in hopes that it would take my mind off of things.

I began to run the warm water as I reached for several candles, lighting them and placing them around the room, trying to forget the entire day altogether. As I waited for the tub to fill I grabbed my phone, opening Instagram for no other reason than to have something to do. Although Yunho and I broke up, I still followed their band account, as well as their individual accounts. Seonghwa, San, and Wooyoung were still my friends, after all. Yunho was the only exception. Both of us unfollowed each other early on just because it was too painful. I didn’t hold it against him and hoped he didn’t hold it against me either.

Regardless, my eyes found the most recent post on Sidekick Heart’s account. All four members were shirtless, their hair dripping wet with goofy smiles plastered on their faces. They were standing by a pool, the same one Yunho and I would often break into. I noticed Yunho first, how could I not? His smile wasn’t as wide as the other’s, his eyes a bit colder, but he looked happy all the same. He looked good. Really, really good. He was always fit while we were dating, but he gained more muscle since I last saw him and it didn’t go unnoticed by their fans, either. I clicked the comment section against my better judgement, knowing what I was going to see before I even did so.

“Yunho looks like a fucking goddd”

“So Yunho’s still single right??”

“Yunhooo hmu I beg you”

“Jesus Christ Yunho break me please”

A surge of jealousy rushed through me. I hated when girls said those things when we were together, but now that we were apart it made it even worse. I had no right to be jealous, and that was the worst part.

The water reached my leg that was resting on the side of the tub and I scrambled to turn off the faucet. Doing my best to push the images from my mind I placed my phone aside and stripped from my clothes, settling in the water. I sighed as some water fell out of the side of the tub. It wasn’t a terrible thing to happen, but it seemed to just be another thing to go wrong.

My eyes wandered back to my phone, Instagram still open and the picture I was looking at earlier still on display. He was so fucking hot and seeing that he was standing next to that pool—our pool—made my brain short circuit. I couldn’t stop my thoughts from taking me back to the last night we broke in, the way we teased each other and how it inevitably led to sex. It seemed I had no control over my body as my dominant hand slipped between my legs.

But as much as I wanted it to be, it wasn’t the same. My fingers weren’t as long or slender as his and just nothing about our touches were the same, but the image of him just made my hormones rage. Every ounce of me craved him.

My fingers swirled around my clit, a bundle of pleasure shooting through me at the action. I closed my eyes, letting my body take over and repeat the motions and much as I fought not to, my brain kept replaying scenes of two of us again, and again, and again.

“Such a good girl, aren’t you?” Yunho spoke as I sunk down on his dick, barely finding the energy to lift myself up again even though the noises he made were like shots of espresso.

“Aww, is my baby getting tired?” He cooed, jerking his hips into mine.

“It’s not fair!” I whined, “I’m not good at this and you know it.”

“But we wouldn’t be a good couple if we didn’t encourage each other to work hard, right? Up you go, flower.”

I whimpered and pouted, but still obeyed him. Taking pity on me, Yunho grabbed my waist and lifted me, relaxing his grip as I moved downward. I made a noise that wasn’t understood by Yunho, but it didn’t go unnoticed.

“What was that?”

“Please. More. I need you so bad.” I begged.

Yunho laughed, “I really do have you wrapped around my finger, don’t I?”

I nodded before remembering that he’d probably prefer a verbal answer, “Yes. I’m w-wrapped around your finger.”

He let out a noise of satisfaction before flipping us over into a position so that he would have full control. I grabbed the bedsheets roughly, so much in my own world that I didn’t hear Yunho’s words.

“What was that?” I let out with a series of mewls.

“You’ve got me wrapped around your finger, too, you know? I don’t go an hour without thinking about you anymore. I can’t even have a single conversation without bringing you up. Anytime someone says your name my heart beats out of my damn chest. You’re the only woman for me.”

My legs shook as my high approached, barely able to breathe at it’s intensity. It took me a minute before I could even remember where I was. As I came to my senses, I felt tears biting at my eyes and this time I didn’t bother to hold them back. I watched as they streamed down my face and joined the now-cold water surrounding me. I brought my hands up to cover my eyes, glad Tiff wasn’t home to hear my wailing. She’d been good about staying with me since the breakup, but tonight she just wasn’t here. The hole in my heart felt even deeper now. I wondered if he found someone, if he was happy now. Hell, maybe it was his ex. The thought tore my heart out and ripped it in two. I wanted to be happy for him if it was true, but I just couldn’t be. I was still too selfish. I still wanted him to love only me.

-

 New friends, new beginnings or whatever.

That’s apparently what I thought when I began attending more clubs at college after the breakup, meeting new people and eventually finding a really solid friend group. All who happened to really like punk-rock music.

“You should really go with us,” Shang directed his words at me, “There’s a new band popping up that’s playing this weekend. It’s three hours away but they have great music.” 

I sighed, not fully convinced although it did sound fun. The last concert I’d been to was one of Yunho’s and though I hadn’t even seen him in what felt like forever, I still couldn’t help myself from thinking of him anytime someone talked about concerts. Sensing my apprehension, the woman beside me spoke up.

“Road trip! Road trip! Road trip!” Tyra chanted in my ear, her black curls bouncing with her as she clapped her hands between the words. “Come on, it would be so much fun and you know it.”

I bit my lip, deep in thought. I knew I would have fun but I just didn’t know if that would outweigh the pain I would feel.

“What’s the band name?” I asked, looking at Shang.

“Honestly?” He scratched the back of his head, “I was a little drunk when I told one of my friends I’d be there so I don’t even remember what they’re called.”

“How do you know they have great music, then?” I laughed, Tyra agreeing with me, apparently not knowing who was playing when she agreed either.

“I mean, my brother listens to their music and he’s got good music taste so they’ve gotta be good.”

I closed my eyes as I felt an oncoming headache, knowing they wouldn’t accept no as an answer. “Fuck it.” I stated, “I’ll go.”

The two cheered, Shang promising that I’d enjoy myself. I doubted it, truthfully, but really it was decided that I’d go the moment the pair brought the idea up to me.

-

Our trio waded through the giant crowd as the doors opened to let us into the venue. It was big, one of the larger concerts I’ve been to. Whoever we were seeing was successful, for sure. The volume at which everyone was speaking was essentially a yell, so I had to do just that to get my messages through.

“I still can’t believe we have no fucking idea who’s playing!” I yelled at Shang.

He laughed, “I got seats towards the front row, though! I didn’t even have to pay for them!”

“That’s not gonna matter if we don’t know any of the lyrics, you dipshit!” Tyra barked.

“Okay okay I should’ve asked, I get that now.”

As we found our way towards the seats, there was a big projector with the words ‘Sidekick Heart’ displayed across it. My heart dropped and I suddenly felt it become hard to breathe.

“You got us tickets to a Sidekick Heart concert?” Tyra beamed, “I love their music and I’m practically in love with San! His vocals are insane! Holy shit, Shang!”

“Ohhhh yeah I remember now.” He chuckled.

I seemed to fade into the background as the two of them discussed their love for the band and the members. All I could think about was seeing Yunho again.

Would he see me? How would he react if he does?...Does he hate me?

I only came back to reality when the audience began to cheer and I saw all the members step onto stage. Seonghwa cradled his electric guitar, in one arm, waving at the audience with the other. Wooyoung plopped down behind the drum set, smiling at the audience while twirling a drumstick. With his bass guitar, San, ever the king of expressions, gave his best smoulder to the audience and it seemed like the audience collectively screamed over him. Then came Yunho out to center stage, his electric guitar in his hands and a smirk on his face as if he knew everyone in the damn building wanted to fuck him. And he’d be right. The spotlights on each of them made them look like actual gods. If I didn’t know them personally I would have thought they were.

Yunho leaned into the mic, his gruff voice taking me by surprise, “Hello everyone! Great to see you all! If you haven’t been to one of our concerts before this is how it’s gonna work: You’re gonna dance, we’re gonna sing, we’re all gonna have a fucking great time tonight!”

The crowd erupted as the first song began to play. It was one of their more popular songs and for good reason. All over it was a really well put together song and I couldn’t help as I began to mouth along to the words. Song after song played, some I knew some I didn’t, and the entire time I couldn’t look away from the man singing. He radiated confidence and looked relaxed as if he’d been performing for decades. I knew he wasn’t as cool as he seemed, I’d given him so many pep talks before performances I couldn’t count them, but as an outsider you’d never know.

I wonder who talked him up this time?

“Alright everyone. This is the last song of the night and-”

The audience booed, everyone upset at the night coming to a close.

Yunho laughed. The sound was rich and beautiful. He was truly enjoying himself. This is what he was meant to do, with or without me. I closed my eyes, willing myself not to cry.

Yunho’s voice filled my ears. “I know, I know. I’d love to stay a bit longer, too. Here’s the thing though...” He paused and I opened my eyes only to see him looking back at me. His eyes automatically softened as they always did when he saw me, but as if he remembered how we ended his gaze hardened slightly, like he was trying to distance himself. It felt like we’d been looking at each other for hours before he opened his mouth to speak again, but I knew very well that my perception of time had been off for a while.

“Even if we only have this little time left, I’ve truly enjoyed the time we’ve spent together. The fact that it’s coming to an end soon is what makes it so special, I think.” Yunho broke eye contact with me, smiling slightly and glancing back out at the sea of people. “Seeing your smiling faces, your energetic cheers—all of it—is a reminder to me that we’re so lucky to be doing this as a job. Really...I love you all.”

The audience let out a chorus of ‘awws’ which was followed by several rather aggressive ‘I love you too’s.

The lead singer once more smiled, “Now, without further adieu, this is one of our newest songs and it’s called Brown Eyes, here it is.”

The music began to play, all instruments coming together to make a somber tune. Somehow they were always able to write music that perfectly encapsulated emotions or ideas. This one? Loss.

“Since you left you’re still so infused

In how I think and what I do

Can’t seem to get you to leave me alone

Your ghost stayed here and she watches my tears

That run down our picture frames”

Then he found me again in the crowd, no doubt able to see the tears staining my makeup, no doubt able to see how broken I was. And still, he sang.

“I’ve tried hard to fight it

Yet I keep givin’ in

There’s been no one but you

I’m trapped, confined

And your platinum smile still knocks me out

Every single time”

He kept eye contact with me, not once breaking his gaze. It was almost as if he wanted me to break first, as if he wanted me to look away before him. As if he was daring me to leave him again.

San stepped closer to his mic and took his eyes away from his bass guitar, Yunho’s voice being replaced by the purple-haired man. As his voice rang out I only could’ve hoped the next lyrics were about one of San ex’s, not me. Even if they weren’t, Yunho still looked at me.

“It’s not aimed at me 

Maybe it never was

But oh darling, you could’ve fooled me”

My eyes flickered down, unable to look at Yunho any longer. His gaze only broke my heart further and in turn I felt my eyes water. After a moment or two, I worked up the courage to look back at him. He was still looking at me like he never moved his eyes. I couldn’t seem to register the lyrics until Yunho began to sing again, his voice drawing me in as it always did.

“You've disappeared without a trace

Left an unsuspecting guise

Love, I need you to know

I’ve been losing far more than sleep

Over those deep chocolate eyes.”

As the song and the show ended and everyone in the crowd cheered, I felt a rush of emotions run through me. Thrilled that they’d become so successful, proud of them for putting on such an amazing show, and hurt because I could still see a sliver of sadness in Yunho’s eyes.

I hurt him.

Yunho then reluctantly said his goodbyes to the audience along with the rest of the members. His jaw tightened as he walked over to Wooyoung, whispering something in his ear before walking off stage. Feeling like I was set in a trance, I grabbed my Tyra’s arm and mumbled something about going to the bathroom before following him. I completely ignored her questions and concerns about where I was going, dead set on talking to him again even though I didn’t have a damn idea what I was going to say.

Somehow, through the giant maze of people, I was able to spot Yunho leaving through the backstage. Instinctively I ran towards him, still having no plan in mind. I only stopped when a purple-headed man appeared before me.

“Y/n!” He smiled, bringing me into a hug, “I missed you so much!” He pulled back from me, “We all did.”

Seonghwa and Wooyoung came from behind me, both wearing sad, kind smiles. They looked healthy and happy, which was all I could’ve asked for them.

“How’ve you been, girl?” Seonghwa cocked his head, genuinely curious.

I hesitated, not sure if I should tell them the truth. But at the end of the day, they were still my friends. “Not...great. If I’m being honest. I was kinda hoping I could talk to Yunho...if I could.”

They all shared a look I couldn’t understand.

Wooyoung spoke up, “We’re having a party at a friend’s house after this, you should come.”

I was surprised, still not fully understanding the situation.

San frowned, “I think it would be good for you two to talk. He didn’t tell us too much about what happened, but I’m sure you had a good reason. You were always so good to all of us.”

“I can text you the address if you’d like,” Wooyoung added, “You still have the same number?”

I nodded.

“Okay, good. We need to get back but we’ll see you there. Take care, okay?”

“I will. Thanks guys.”

San pulled me in for another hug, “Of course.”

They waved as we parted ways and for the first time that night, I felt hopeful. I spotted Shang and Tyra and ran up to them, no doubt a smile on my face as I asked, “Soo...you guys up for a party?”

-

I ditched my friends the moment we arrived, barely even sparing a word with Seonghwa, San, and Wooyoung once they nudged me in the direction of Yunho. I didn’t try to think too much about it, knowing I’d explain it all to them later.

He was standing in an empty bedroom, looking at the floor and sipping out of a red cup which likely contained liquor. When his eyes met mine a rush of memories flooded back to me. The first time we kissed, the first time he confessed he loved me, the first time he saw me cry.

The first time I broke his heart.

His eyes raised to mine, his face stoic, “Enjoy the show?”

My mouth opened and closed, not having any clue what to say to him, “Yunho I-”

“I know why you did it.” He said suddenly, “A week after you left me Lucy showed up to one of our shows and tried to convince me it was all a coincidence. Said that I could finally be with her. When I didn’t buy it she finally gave in and told me she convinced you we were better apart. So naturally I called the cops and they arrested her for breaking the restraining order, thank god.” He shook his head, looking disgusted, “You know I never wanted us to be apart. My question to you,” he took a step further towards me, “is why did you do it? Why did you end us?”

When I couldn’t seem to respond he talked once more, “You could’ve told me what she was trying to do. We could’ve worked it out together.” He looked more disappointed and heartbroken rather than angry.

He doesn’t deserve this. He doesn’t deserve any of this.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Yunho.” I bit my tongue as I fought back tears, “I’m not asking for you to forgive me. I-I’m just-” I sobbed, “Lucy told me she would kill you if I kept dating you.”

Yunho’s mouth shut and eyes widened, clearly missing that bit of information. I took it as my cue to continue “I don’t know why she did it, but it’s probably because we were happy.”

More tears fell down my face and it became harder for me to talk, but I owed him the truth. I had to tell him the truth. I looked up at him but because of my tears my vision was blurred. Yunho’s hands were tightening into fists as he looked away from me.

“I couldn’t tell you because I had to protect you so I had to make you hate me and I’m just so sorry.” I fell to the ground, my body feeling as heavy as my heart.

I felt a warm hand on my shoulder and I brought my eyes to meet his own, “I’m sorry.” A tear streamed down his cheek, heavy remorse in his eyes, “God she’s fucking awful.”

A laugh got caught in my throat, “Yeah she is.”

He set his cup down somewhere along the way a his hands cupped my face, finally whispering the words I’d only heard in dreams, “I still love you so fucking much. I never stopped loving you. I never even tried to stop because I know I couldn’t.”

I jumped into his arms and kissed him hard, unintentionally knocking him to the floor. He met my lips with just as much fire, groaning when I unconsciously bucked my hips into his, all my sexual frustration still pent up.

“I missed you so fucking much.” Yunho growled, obviously feeling needy too but deciding against it as he wrapped his arms around my waist, speaking in between kisses, “I missed your cute laugh. I missed your lips. I missed your fucking awful jokes. I missed the way you’d look at me whenever you told me you loved me. I missed your gorgeous body and your smile. I missed your moans and the way you arched your back when we’d have sex. I missed how alive you made me feel.” He pulled back to look at me, “My life had no purpose without you.”

I took a breath, tears once more falling, “Mine didn’t either.” It wasn’t anything profound or emotional, but it was the truth. It didn’t.

Gently picking me up, he placed me on the bed. His eyes were raw, as emotional as they could ever be. Taking my hands in his, he looked at me as if I would disappear at any minute.

“Stay with me. Come with us on the rest of the tour. If you can’t take a vacation we’ll hire you as an assistant. If you can’t do that we’ll make some other kind of accommodation. Just stay, please. Please be mine again.”

I looked at the man in front of me. The tough-looking, six-foot tall, tattooed, strong man that could probably scare the shit out of anyone. Yet here he was, bearing his heart to me and being as vulnerable as a person could be.

I smiled, feeling my heart swell. “I’ve only ever been yours.”

-

The morning was bright, lighting directly hitting my eyes. I cursed myself for not closing the blinds the night before and blinked off my sleep when I heard a familiar pleasant sound.

Jumping down from the bed I put on the new fluffy bathrobe my lover bought me. I followed Yunho’s voice out to my porch, realizing I was listening to a new song of his. The man was strumming a guitar, a beautiful melody falling from his lips. When he noticed me, he smiled and continued to sing.

“I’m in a vivid yellow mood

You’re my muse, my home and room

And now that I have you again

What could I ever fear?

Oh do me a favor, dear

And inscribe your name on my sleeve

Let me keep it there forever

Because you’re better than any daydream.”

[iclaimedtobethebetterbard]

popcorn & pronouns

Fandom: Sanders Sides Characters: Janus, Remus, Roman Rating: Teen & up Relationships: Dukeceit, Creativitwins  Warnings: Not much to warn for in this one. Language, a little bit of suggestiveness, vague non-detailed descriptions of a horror movie.  Word count: 3402

Read on AO3!

My writing masterpost

Starlight Universe masterpost

Dukeceit Week 2021 start - previous - here - next - masterpost

Summary: A movie night date leads to an important conversation. Already being t4t makes it a lot easier. Or, in Remus's own words, “This is just, like, going to be a week of people coming out to me, I guess. Huh.”

Notes: Day 6 of Dukeceit Week 2021! Almost there! @dukeceitweek Takes place in my Starlight Universe, where each piece can be read without any context. Takes place 9 months after college; at the start of the story, Janus uses only they/them pronouns. 

-- 

“Ooh, popcorn! Can I have some?” Roman popped his head into the kitchen of the apartment he, Remus, and Logan had shared in the nine or so months since they had all graduated college.

“No, Jan and I are having a date in twenty minutes,” Remus said, waving Roman off without looking away from the air popper.

“Okay, I don’t see how that’s relevant to my question.” Roman pushed himself to sit on the counter by the sink. “I mean, that’s really cute, I hope you have fun. But can I have some popcorn?”

Remus rolled his eyes. “Make your own when I’m done.”

“But you make it better!” Roman pouted overdramatically.

Remus raised an eyebrow. “All I do is plug in the machine?”

“Right, which is better than me doing it.” Roman grinned at them. “Less work for me.”

“Hey!” Remus swatted his arm. “The transphobia, honestly—”

“Well, if you making it for me is transphobic to you, then you not making it for me is—” Roman broke off quite suddenly, his expression undergoing several shifts very fast that Remus could not make sense of. Which was… unusual, to say the least. Roman was normally the one person they could always count on understanding. They didn’t like this new development one bit.

“Ro?”

“Iiiiiit’s… queerphobic to me,” Roman said at last, a worried pinch to his eyebrows. He laughed, and it almost didn’t sound forced. “So we’re at a tie, so you should just make me popcorn.”

“First of all, I’m queer too, make your own damn popcorn. Second—” Remus turned away from the popcorn machine and gave Roman his full attention, leaning back against the kitchen island and tilting his head to the side. “Do you wanna talk about whatever the fuck that was?” So far as Remus knew, Roman was bi; that was the label he’d been using for years and years, so long that it practically felt like forever. Since almost the very beginning of high school. Since before Remus had questioned their gender, even. Only last week, he’d called the light switch biphobic without hesitation when it broke.

Whatever had happened to make him so very deliberately not call himself bi just now, it was new.

Roman’s expression closed up very fast indeed, but not before Remus caught a flash of something he was almost certain was fear. “No.”

“You know it’s okay to question, right?” Remus inquired awkwardly. “No matter what specifically, and no matter what the outcome is? Yeah?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“You know I’d still love you no matter what, right? Even if you were, like, a straight man—like, I would make so many jokes about not agreeing with your lifestyle, but—Ro, you know everything is always gonna be okay, right?”

Roman glared at him. “Remus, I don’t want to talk about it.” He wrinkled his nose. “And I’m definitely not straight.”

Remus blinked and raised their hands. “Alright. I didn’t mean literally straight, I just meant—you could be literally whatever, and it would be cool. That was—like—the most extreme example I could think of, you know?”

Roman let out a slight huff of laughter. “Thanks,” he said reluctantly after a pause. “It’s nothing, though.”

“Bullshit,” Remus said immediately.

“It—” Roman swallowed. “I need it to be nothing, okay?”

“If anyone’s making you feel shitty, I’ll beat them up,” Remus said immediately. “Even if it’s Patton. Just drop the names. I’ll do it. I’ll—”

“Remus, it’s fine. I want to stop fucking talking about it now!” Roman snapped.

Remus hesitated, fumbling for what to do or say next, everything about the conversation feeling just a little wrong and sideways.

Roman sighed. “Sorry.” He pushed off the counter, went to the fridge, and stared into it for a solid thirty seconds, then took a cheese stick out of the door. “I’ll make my own popcorn later,” he mumbled and retreated back to his room.

“Damn, alright,” Remus said to the empty room. “Be like that, I guess.” They flung their hands into the air and went to get the butter they’d been melting in the microwave before Roman’s appearance.

Roman would talk to them about it, whatever it was, eventually. He always did. And whatever was bugging him, Remus would figure out a way to bug it back until it stopped and Roman was all happy and bubbly again. Because that was what Remus always did. It would be fine. It was just a waiting game.

Remus sighed. He always hated waiting.

***

“Mmkay,” Remus said, when Janus had arrived, and they had worked together to move the TV out of the living room and into Remus’s room, and they had settled in on Remus’s bed—Remus sitting up against the headboard and Janus half-laying in Remus’s lap with their long thin legs stretched out along the bed and their head on his chest—and the popcorn had been set beside them where they could both reach it, and the blanket nest had been fluffed once more. “What shall we watch?”

Janus was silent for a long moment. Actually, come to think of it, they had been quiet since they’d arrived at the apartment—even more quiet than usual. But Remus was almost certain they weren’t nonverbal, seeing as they had exchanged a few fond words with him. It just hadn’t been very many words.

“Janny, baby?” Remus leaned forward, over their shoulder, trying to catch a glimpse of their face.

Janus had their fingers knotted in the blanket that was spread over their lap, fidgeting with it anxiously, a thinking-hard expression on their face.

“Baby?” Remus curled one hand lightly around theirs. “You good?”

“Choices are too hard right now,” Janus said at last.

“Okay, that’s okay. Do you know what you need?”

“I want to watch a movie.” Janus frowned. “I just can’t choose.”

“Gotcha. No problem.” Remus pressed a kiss to their cheek. “I’m really good at choosing.” He threaded his fingers through Janus’s long hair, scratching soothingly at their scalp in just the way he knew they liked, and pulled up the library of movies, switching from Roman’s profile to his own.

“How’s some really cheesy horrible horror film we can make fun of sound?” he asked, scrolling with the remote and still playing with Janus’s hair with his other hand. “I know we have a bunch of those, I loved ’em when we were kids and I think they’re funny.”

“That sounds fine.” Janus nodded and relaxed a little further against Remus.

“Good.” He kissed the top of their head. “Do you need anything else?”

Janus shook their head. “I’ve just been kind of stressed lately. Work’s been shit, and all that. It’s fine. I just want to cuddle and things.”

“Ooh, ‘and things,’ I like the sound of that,” Remus teased, sliding his hand gently to their chin and drawing them to twist around far enough that he could kiss them soft and slow.

“I didn’t say what kinds of things,” Janus said innocently, their eyes still closed and so close to Remus that their lips brushed against his as they spoke. “Perhaps I could be persuaded later.”

“I’ll be sure to prepare my best arguments,” Remus said, leaning slightly up to kiss their forehead and then back down to their lips for another lazy kiss, taking his time and exploring Janus’s mouth until they sighed and melted against him.

“A compelling preview,” they murmured, their eyes still closed and the slightest smile curling at their lips.

Remus meant to make some kind of witty quip in return, really he did, but all that came out of his mouth was a quiet, awed, “Holy fuck, you’re so beautiful, Jan.”

Janus’s eyes opened and met his for a moment, soft and vulnerable, before they turned and hid their face in his neck. “Love you,” they whispered against his skin.

“Mm, I love you too,” Remus said happily, wrapping his arms securely around Janus and kissing the top of their head. “Love your pretty eyes and skin and hair and body, love how clever you are, love your scary goth clothes, love your snark, love your stims, love you—”

Janus whined wordlessly into his neck, pressing kisses to it and fisting their hands in the front of his shirt.

Remus chuckled, taking a handful of their hair and gently tugging until they looked up at him once more. “Do you want to watch a movie at all, or do you just wanna make out? Cause I’d be good with either, but if you wanna do a movie, we should get on that before we’re too distracted.”

“Oh.” Janus leaned their head back a little until it was resting against Remus’s hand. “Not that I don’t want to make out, but—”

“Nah, I gotcha. Gotta at least get through the popcorn, am I right?” Remus cast about for the remote, lost in the blanket pile, as Janus shifted about until they faced the television again.

“There it is!” Remus snatched the remote up, clicking through the library on the television until he saw the particular film he was thinking of and pulled it up. “This look good?”

“‘When moving into their new house, little do our protagonists know it is haunted by a demonic serial killer. Will they get out in time? Or will they be his next victims?’” Janus read the summary aloud. “Sounds absolutely thrilling. Extremely original. Love the bad Photoshop on the cover. I’m sure the acting will be of the highest quality.”

“Oh, yeah, it’s so shitty, I love it. So many cheesy effects and fake blood, it’s the actual stupidest shit,” Remus assured them. “I love it, though. Went as the demon thing for Halloween when I was nine. Nobody fucking knew what I was, but I had the time of my life. And got fake blood on Roman when he wasn’t looking. It was great.”

Janus chuckled, reaching up to brush their fingertips against Remus’s cheek. “Well, with such a glowing review from someone so attractive, how can I resist?” they said fondly.

“That’s the spirit!” Remus hit play.

Remus had watched this particular movie more times than they could count over the course of their childhood. He peppered commentary throughout the film:

“This is my favorite part, if you pay attention you can see her real fingertips holding onto the fake hand she’s about to get chopped off!”

“There’s a jumpscare in this scene, I know you hate those—okay, hit the skip-ten-seconds button in three, two, there. Perfect. Dumbass demon movie can’t even trust itself to be creepy without cheap scares.”

“Look, I know the mom is supposed to have some kind of hot blonde thing going on for the horny straight men in the audience, but she’s got nothing on you.”

“For some reason they made a director’s commentary and it actually includes the fake blood recipe they used, I’ll show you sometime!”

Janus, in turn, provided brilliant, extremely snarky roasts, mostly of either the actors’ absolute lack of skill or the gaping plot holes:

“Oh, yes, going alone to the attic at midnight without so much as a candle is a fantastic idea, nothing bad could possibly happen in this scene.”

“Listen, I can excuse the children because they’re about eight years old, but do you think this man has ever even heard of acting? Or even, like, speaking in a non-monotone?”

“I am truly fascinated by the special effects department’s understanding of human anatomy.”

“So, the demon feeds on misery? Why hasn’t it taken up residence in a large office building? I mean, come on, hundreds of souls in an environment designed to grind out constant levels of misery? It’s perfect. The poor thing must be starving out here in the two-point-five-kids-and-a-dog suburbs, every meal it gets is tiny. I would be so much better at its job than it is.”

At last the credits rolled.

“Wanna see pictures of the costume I made?” Remus asked.

“Sure.” Janus sounded amused.

“Lemme just—” Remus scrolled through their camera roll for a minute. “Oh, here they are.” They displayed their phone to Janus; tiny nine-year-old Remus, who sported long tangled brown hair in two ponytails, was draped in a black curtain, donated by his great-aunt, that he had very enthusiastically taken a pair of scissors to to create a tattered effect; the curtain was splattered with bright red goo, and tiny Remus had a pair of plastic knives in his hands, which were blurry in almost every photo because they’d hardly stopped making stabbing motions all evening. To their right, their little sister Gabby, who’d been six at the time, was dressed as Elastigirl and making a punching motion; to their right, Roman—who had already been a full three inches taller than Remus, even at nine—was wearing a Belle dress with a poofy skirt and a sword strapped around his waist and a huge smile that was missing one front tooth.

Remus swiped through the photos; a delightful scene unfolded, as tiny Remus posed for a few pictures, then in one was blurrily turning towards Roman, then dumping something on him, then Roman was screaming and Remus was laughing as red goo dripped down the poofy yellow skirt; Gabby watched with both hands clapped over her mouth, eyes huge.

“You two really have not changed at all, have you?” Janus asked, stifling laughter.

“Absolutely not,” Remus agreed with an answering laugh. “I think the most that either of us ever changed was when I chopped off all that hair and dyed it green.”

“When was that?” Janus asked.

“Sophomore year of high school. I did not have permission to chop it all off, but I did get permission to dye it afterwards, so that was pretty sick.”

“And that didn’t go against dress code?” Janus inquired.

“No, actually. Not sure how. But I bet my parents would’ve kicked up a big stink about it if the school tried and made me change it; they were always super big on self expression and shit.” Remus gestured towards the picture, indicating tiny Roman in his princess dress. “We always got to wear whatever we wanted, and shit like that. It was nice. Made gender shit way easier when that became a thing for me, you know?”

“It sounds nice,” Janus said softly. “I’m happy you had that.”

Remus nodded and pressed a kiss to their forehead, reaching for a handful of the popcorn dregs in the bottom of the bowl.

Janus shifted in their arms, rolling over to face Remus and propping themself up on their elbows. “Actually,” they began.

Something on their face told Remus that whatever this new topic of conversation was, it was important. He swallowed the half-chewed popcorn in his mouth. “Yeah, baby?”

“Speaking of gender.” Janus picked at the edge of the blanket.

“I love speaking of that, go on.” Remus tousled Janus’s hair fondly.

Janus took a deep breath, staring at the blanket in their hands. “I want to start using he pronouns again. In addition to my regular ones. Or.” They wrinkled their nose. “My current ones, I guess. So, he/they.”

“That’s great, he/they pronouns are very sexy,” Remus said at once.

Janus laughed, looking up at him at last. “That’s true, you are the sexiest person I know,” he said fondly. A shadow passed over his features. “But,” he went on slowly, chewing on the inside of their lip and picking at the blanket once more.

“Yeah?” Remus encouraged.

“I really don’t like the idea of telling anyone else about that.” Janus grimaced. “I keep worrying I’ll get asked stupid questions about ‘oh, so are you a man again now?’ when—like—no, and I never was one in the first place. So.”

“Oh, that sounds gross,” Remus agreed at once. “I can see why you’d be worried about that.”

Janus nodded. “I just—I don’t want to explain. And I don’t want people to ask questions. And they might. And I just—I don't want any of it. I want to skip to the part where they know and it’s all how I want it to be.”

“That’s reasonable,” Remus agreed. “But, I mean, if they can get me using he/they pronouns and being nonbinary, they had better fucking wrap their minds around the concept of you doing it too. Yeah? Or I’ll make ’em. Violently, if you want.”

Janus snorted. “I appreciate the offer, darling.” They reached up and touched his cheek. “I… don’t know if I want to tell anyone else yet. But I did want to tell you.”

“You got it, cutie.” Remus booped Janus’s nose once. “Just let me know if anything changes. I’ll punch people for you. Anytime. They don’t even have to have done anything. Just point me at them and consider it done.”

Janus did laugh at that, outright, scrunching up his face and burying it in Remus’s chest. “I should not be this into you offering to punch people for me,” he said wryly.

Remus grinned and flipped their hair. “Nah, I think it’s definitely very sexy of me and should absolutely turn you on.”

Janus smacked Remus’s arm. “I did not say that!”

“You implied it.”

“Not… necessarily. That was one possible interpretation—”

“Oh, right, I see, mmhm, very interesting.”

They smacked his arm again. “You’re teasing me.”

“Only a little bit. You’re so pretty when you get all flustered.” Remus bent their head at a somewhat awkward angle to kiss Janus’s lips gently. “Are there any new words you want me to use, by the way?” they asked. “Besides updating pronouns?”

Janus tilted his head to the side, considering. “I think… I still like all the sorts of things you call me already. Pretty, and partner, and—and baby, and so on.”

Remus smirked. “That’s good, I like calling you baby.”

“Oh my god, shut up.” Janus hid their face in their hands.

“Why, baby?” Remus asked innocently.

Janus made a strangled noise, and after a pause carried on. “I do think I wouldn’t mind adding a little bit of… masc terminology? I guess? If that makes sense? Adding that into the mix. Not all the time, and not as much as the things you already call me, but… just a bit would be nice.”

“Gotcha.” Remus nodded. “I can do that. So, like, my baby is very pretty and handsome?”

Janus’s cheeks went bright red in an instant, and he hid his face in Remus’s chest again, letting out a tiny wordless scream. “Yes. That. That—that’s nice,” they managed after a pause, sounding almost entirely composed.

Remus chuckled and ran their fingers through Janus’s hair. “Good to know,” he said teasingly. “I will definitely keep this in mind.”

“Oh my god,” Janus mumbled. “Are you trying to kill me?”

“Absolutely, but only in a sexy way of making you happy.” Remus kissed the top of their head. “This is just, like, going to be a week of people coming out to me, I guess,” they mused. “Huh.”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, something’s clearly eating at someone else we know, and I think they’re going to tell me about whatever it is within the week. That’s all. It was just funny timing.” Remus kissed the top of Janus’s head again. “So, the movie’s over,” they noted, which, sure, was a blatant and deliberate change of subject, but he felt this was justified, both for avoiding-speculating-about-Roman’s-personal-information purposes and, more importantly, for fun-after-movie-things purposes.

“That it is,” Janus said, a particular innocent tone entering their voice. Excellent, he was of a similar mind to Remus, then.

Remus grinned and drew them up for a kiss. “So, what does the very pretty and handsome and lovely human in my arms want to do now?” he inquired.

Janus made another small, wordless, flustered noise and promptly dragged Remus into another kiss. “You can’t just say things like that!”

“What, about how you’re the loveliest—prettiest—sexiest—” Remus pressed tiny kisses to Janus’s lips with each word, until at last they caught his lips with their own in a proper kiss to shut him up. “Pretty sure I can say it, actually,” Remus murmured against his lips. “Cause it’s true.”

“Oh, like you’re one to talk,” Janus said, sounding very pleased indeed, and kissed them again.

--

Taglist (ask to be added/removed!): @theimprobabledreamersworld @peruviandesertfox

[isolemnlyswearpevensie]

Strawberry Jam Sandwich | Regulus Black x Reader

Warnings: Nothing :)

Time/Era: Marauders Era

Word Count: 2.2k

Summary: Y/N Potter and Regulus Black are a match made from heaven, even if other people didn’t expect it. 

Request: hello first of all I really like your writing and hope you and your loved ones are doing well. could you write a regulus black fic? like reader is James’ sister and they get married (because regulus doesn’t die) and years later they meet Harry?

A/N: Thank you and thank you for the request! Let me know how you like it! Enjoy! I love Reg and I’m so excited to FINALLY write for him!! For anyone else wanting a fic; please request away! 

masterlist | read on ao3

Y/N Potter and Regulus Black were a weird pairing in most people’s eyes. Both being the younger siblings of the two most popular guys in school, it made their peers raise their eyebrows. Not to mention, they were in rival houses and seemed to be on opposite sides of the war. But they just worked. 

Y/N was a lot like her older brother, James; very loud and loveable. She was naturally talented on the quidditch field and loved to make friends. It was obvious that she had relationships with people of all the houses due to her outgoing attitude and warm sense of humor. While Regulus also played quidditch, he was much more introverted and shy. He didn’t have many friends, due to being categorized by his surname automatically, so he often kept to himself and spoke only when necessary. Y/N was the talker, Regulus was the listener. 

Funnily enough, Y/N and Regulus met through the means of getting Sirius to make amends with Regulus again. Regulus had cornered Y/N in the library and begged her to help him come up with a plan to talk to his brother. They ended up meeting multiple times in the following weeks and grew to be friends. 

Regulus adored her ability to be interested in small things; she once asked him what a necklace he wore meant. It didn’t mean anything in particular, but she sat and listened to him speak about his jewelry for almost 15 minutes. No one ever took the time to listen to what the younger Black sibling had to say. 

To their ‘plan sessions” in the library, Y/N always brought a strawberry jam sandwich to munch on. They met after her quidditch practices, so James and Sirius wouldn’t find them, which meant she needed a snack to keep her energy levels up. She always offered him half, which the rather regal boy would decline nearly every time. Nearly. Regulus found her little snack absolutely adorable, especially when the jam got all over her face. It made her lips even pinker, and that much more kissable. 

The sandwich became an inside joke between the two quickly. Even when passing in the halls, they would scoff and find the most outlandish way to mention the food. It wasn’t funny in hindsight, but it was something that connected the two in its ridiculousness. 

~

Regulus paced back and forth among the bookshelves of the Hogwarts library, hoping to bump into his now best friend, Y/N. The library was near empty, as it was Friday night and very close to curfew, so even just looking for her held very little hope. She had mentioned something about having to finish an assignment she was procrastinating, so Regulus hoped she followed his advice to just get it over with. 

The bookshelves were high and blocked most of the ceiling in the room, making the books impossible to read. Long, vertical shadows cast their darkness over almost every inch of the floor and offered very little light to allow him to navigate the maze of shelves.  During the day, of course, this was a different considering the wall of windows that looked over the courtyards. The window seats were some of his favorite places to come and think. And the seats just happened to be his and Y/N’s meeting spot. 

Regulus was about to give up on his search, but he noticed Y/N hunched over an astronomy book, sitting on the floor with her back leaning against a bookshelf. He casually slipped next to her, offering a shy hello. 

“Hey, Black. What are you doing here?” 

“I was about to ask you the same thing, Potter. Not exactly the best studying environment.” Regulus tilted his head back until it hit the books and turned his head to see her. 

“Well, I’m trying to save myself from having to do this entire project tomorrow. I have a book, yet you appear literature-less. What’s your excuse?” Y/N moved so she sat with her legs crossed, the thick book laid open on her lap. 

“I came to return this, you left it at our last meeting.” He placed a slightly toasted strawberry jam sandwich on the book. It was wrapped lazily in a green napkin and left an abundance of crumbs on her homework. Upon further inspection, the words will you be my girlfriend? were scribbled messily on the paper in black ink. Y/N’s jaw grew slack as she looked over at the highly attractive man next to her. 

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but I just wanted to ask.” 

“Are you being serious?” 

“Dead, Y/N.” 

A smile crept over her features and she held out half of the sandwich. “Suppose we can start our relationship with a snack?” 

Regulus accepted the food, making a subtle crunching noise as he bit into it. “I suppose I can make the exception to eat your exceptionally plain choice in snack food, just this once.” 

~

“I’m sorry, you’re dating who?” James laughs, shrugging his younger sister off before grabbing his broom. 

By this point, Y/N and Regulus have been sneakily dating for more than half a year and Y/N was tired of hiding their relationship. After Regulus and Sirius had failed to rekindle their relationship, Sirius shoved his brother even further away than they started. It hurt the younger black to the point of giving up, but even he was tired of hiding their relationship. He loved Y/N with his entire being, and his jerky older brother couldn’t ruin that. 

“Have you ever even talked to Regulus before?” Sirius adds, grabbing his own broom to prep for quidditch practice. 

“Yes, and I am dating him. Not sure what’s so hard to understand about that.” 

“We understand it, just don’t believe it. Now, don’t speak about things you don’t understand.” James kicked off the ground and flew in the direction of the quidditch pitch. 

“Don’t understand? Excuse me?!” 

“He’s right. I know you were just trying to prank us, but joking about something that personal isn’t funny, Y/N.’’ Sirius mounts his own broom and flies off after James. 

After practice, Y/N hurried to the library to meet her slightly anxious boyfriend. Regulus knew you were telling Sirius and James, and he knew they would react badly. Y/N saw Regulus sitting on the windowsill furthest from the door and hurriedly walked over. 

“Hey! How’d it go?” He asked after Y/N pecked his lips and sat next to him. Regulus wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close. 

“Not much to tell, really. They said I was trying to prank them and to not talk about things I didn’t understand. Honestly, I kind of wish they yelled.” 

Regulus laughed and kissed her temple. “They’ll come around, I’m not exactly their favorite person so I can see why they don’t believe it. And I’m happy they didn’t yell because I know how you feel when people yell and I don’t want you to feel like that.” 

“Holy shit! Get away from my sister!” James’ voice filled the area, Sirius quick on his heels. They must have been following Y/N after practice. 

~

“Riddle me this, you want to spy for the order and potentially get KILLED?!” Y/N paced around the living room of Regulus and her shared flat. 

It didn’t take long for Sirius to reaccept Regulus back into his life after seeing how he treated Y/N. At first, both older brothers thought Regulus was using Y/N to feed secrets and information to the opposing side of the war. They didn’t accept the couple and wanted Y/N to have nothing to do with the boy. But, after many feelings were hurt and various words were shared, they decided to give the boy a chance. 

Regulus treated Y/N like a queen and made sure his girl knew how much he loved her. He wasn’t very good with words, but his actions spoke volumes. Flower bouquets were gifted periodically, as were small gifts that had a lot of thought put into them. During one of their study dates, he spent over an hour drawing a beautiful portrait of her. Not too long after, he gave her an entire sketchbook of drawings he knew she would love. Whether that was pictures of her friends, family, her favorite flowers, or something as mundane as the bench she loved to sit on, the gift had taken hours and hours of his time. It was obvious that Regulus was in love with his girl. 

After graduating from Hogwarts, both Regulus and Y/N joined the Order of the Pheonix. Regulus still had heavy ties with Voldemort and his family, so Dumbledore asked him if he would consider being a spy for the Order. Even Sirius thought it was a bad idea. But, he had to prove that he wasn’t who he was raised to be. He had to prove himself to not only everyone around him, but to his inner soul. 

“Listen, Dumbledore thinks that there’s a spy that infiltrated the Order and if I can find out who, maybe I can stop it. Think about it, James has a kid, a kid who is very valuable to you-know-who. We haven’t even spent a ton of time with him yet, but I know I can save him if I find the spy.” 

“Yes, I realize that, Reg. But I can’t lose you in the process. We’re supposed to get married and have kids of our own and have a happy life-” Y/N takes a deep breath. “I can’t live without you.” 

Regulus smiles a comforting smile, taking his girlfriend’s hands in his. “I know, darling. I’m not going anywhere. How about this,” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small ring box, presenting it to Y/N. “Let’s get married. I’ve never been a fan of the big white wedding...and all you need is a few witnesses and two signatures. I’m sure Sirius and James would be more than willing to witness. What do you say?” 

Y/N gapes at her boyfriend. “Are you asking me to marry you?!” Regulus laughs and pecks her lips. 

“I love you so much, Y/N Potter. You are the light of my life and I am so lucky to have you. You have brought me so much joy and really made me the best person I could be,” He wipes a tear delicately from Y/N’s skin. “I asked James for his blessing, too, after the last Order meeting. He said he was ecstatic for us. So, Y/N, will you marry me? We can eat strawberry jam sandwiches together for the rest of our lives.”

“Yes! A thousand times yes!”

~

“Hi, little one, I’m your uncle, Regulus, remember?- Ow! Not the hair!” Regulus sat in a suit in the parlor of Potter cottage with one-year-old harry in his lap. Y/N watched from the doorway, decked out in her white cocktail dress and heels. She couldn’t help but gush at the sight of her soon to be husband with a child; it felt so natural. Her heart swelled just thinking about watching him play with their own children. 

“Yeah, he does that, keep him at a distance,” James responded, coming into the room. He was running late, as always, and was trying to tie his tie. “I can’t believe I’m witnessing my baby sister getting married!” 

Harry gargled and reached his hands towards his father. “Dadadadada!!!!” 

“I know, buddy, I’m right here. Hang out with your Uncle Reg for a while, yeah?” James responds, messing with his hair in the mirror. No matter how much he ‘fixed it,’ it all looked the same.

“It’s crazy how he looks so much like you, it’s like you copied your baby photos and made them come to life!” Y/N stated. Harry was almost an exact copy of James, but with Lily’s eyes. 

Sirius came into the room, perfectly dressed with his hair tied back. “Well, are we leaving or not?” He asked, fixing the bowtie around his neck in the mirror for the 8th time. 

“Pa’foo!” Harry squeals and squirms in Regulus’ arms. His grip tightens around the baby before pressing a kiss into his dark curls. 

“No, not Pa’foo! Reg!” Sirius turned towards Y/N and whistled. “Damn, Reggie, not sure how you picked up this one! Look at the legs on her! Phew, lucky I don’t snatch you up myself!” 

“Stop it! Can we please go?” Y/N swatted Sirius’s chest with her bag, embarrassed.

James plucked Harry from Regulus’ lap and hands him to Lily. “Yes, yes. Sorry, let’s go!” James kisses Lily’s cheek and disapperates out of his house.

Y/N walks over to Regulus and offers him a hand. “Ready to go get married?” 

“I’ve never been more ready, my love. “ 

[aerialflight]

Fic Recs (mostly Naruto cause I read too many good fics in the fandom and now I'm in hell)

[Naruto]

Spirit-Touched by phooykazooi

Once upon a time, the Haruno clan were priests. It was said that they were spirit-touched, and that they walked among the downtrodden and the poor, and did not bow to royalty.

Or, an AU in which Sakura can see spirits.

Part 1 of The Realms Between

(Really, and I mean REALLY fantastic Shikamaru & Sakura friendship! Fantastic, beautiful writing, and such good worldbuilding, god, and the Haruno family is so badass!! Sakura and everything she does makes me want to scream!! Please read!)

Final Evaluation by Do_the_Cool_Whip

Progress evaluations are one-on-one consultation meetings between academy students and their teacher. Their purpose is to inform academy students of their strengths and weaknesses and guide them down their ideal path to becoming a strong shinobi. Upon graduating the academy and passing their jounin-sensei test, new genin return to the academy for one final consultation. (Or: The story of what happens when Umino Iruka uses his final meetings with his students as way to send them off to become the best shinobi they can possibly be.)

(Iruka! Is! The! Best! Teacher! Ever! End of story!!! Great interpretation of all the characters and their capabilities and I am so so excited for the sequel that will undoubtedly come! XD)

Celestial Bodies by Oceanbreeze7

Sasuke looked at the fire, eyes glowing red as the mutated corrupted seal on his throat. "Amaterasu blessed me. I see things. Like you with two normal eyes and the Hokage. And Sakura with a seal on her forehead. And I run Chidori through Naruto's heart. I keep trying to kill him. Over and over. And that knuckleheaded idiot never gives up.”

(Don't you get it? I saw it. The moon will bleed, the nations will die. The world is going to end.)

Part 1 of Celestial Bodies and Anomalies

(I swear, this fic freaking elevated my expectations on Sasuke-centric fics in general holy hell. Also, read the fucking sequel after this cause EVERYTHING GOES NUTS AND THE PLOT GOES OFF AND I'M HERE FOR THIS SHIT. Fucking Uchihas man. Also, you wouldn't think this series is funny, but it is, and it's amazing.)

A step to the left (and right off the cliff) by weavingBlue

Team Seven starts off on a different foot and Sasuke's canonical journey to get stronger goes off the rails a bit. It all works out though. Probably.

(This fic went in a direction I didn't expect and it's GLORIOUS. SO FUNNY, I honestly was dying while I was reading this. Please give this a chance!!)

promises by BombsAreForBabies

It's her first kiss and Naruto's last. She promises him that she will bring Sasuke home. It's his dying wish, after all.

(Naruto bleeds out faster than the kyuubi can heal him.

Sakura learns that being a ninja is more than fancy jutsu and fun.

Sasuke does not know that he just killed his best friend and turned his most loyal comrade into his worst enemy.)

(Listen LISTEN I know this sounds depressing but the relationship developments and slow healing is EVERYTHING and I think it's absolutely worth it to read this. Sakura's characterization is so good and Kakashi makes me want to hug him. A lot.)

Fang Under Fang by Vroomian

"Are we sure he's really an Inuzuka?"

(The answer is no.)

-

Someone reborn as Inuzuka Kiba not only has to deal with bullshit ninja magic, but soulmates being A Thing.

(Really good self-insert fic and its platonic soulmates, not romantic! I am always here for a good Kiba-centric fic and I won't say who the soulmate is. It's unexpected but so, so good! Trust me!)

Haunt The Lonely by Tht0neGal666

(Series where Sakura can see ghosts and the Things she gets up to due to this ability. The fics are short but man, you can already see the shifting differences in Team 7's dynamics, it's great!)

Perception by Ellie_Enchanted

Naruto can sense auras, which throws everything off it's balance. Because really, with someone as open as Naruto running around and peering into the depths of people's souls, something is bound to change. In other words, sometimes all that's needed is a push. Also, Sasuke apparently glows.

(Naruto the empath changing the plot and making it Better and I am loving it!)

Crossfire by DejaVu22

Following the events of Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke never makes it to Orochimaru's hideout. Instead, he is waylaid by a one-eyed man named Tobi, a man possessing a Sharingan, a terrifying dual personality, a penchant for always being late, and a single-minded mission to stop the Akatsuki in their tracks. When Sasuke runs into Naruto again years later, he must ally with his old teammate in order to protect him from the Akatsuki, while keeping him out of the two man war Tobi and Sasuke have started against the dangerous organization.

(I honest to god can't stop cackling when I read this, the Sasuke & Obito dynamic is so freaking chaotic and Sasuke's characterization is the best thing I've ever read. This boi is a mEsS and I'm fucking rooting for him. He cares so much! There's secret identity shenanigans happening on sasuke's end and it's HILARIOUS! This is the duo I never thought I needed but here it is! *cackles insanely*)

-

[Diamond no Ace]

Echo in His Hands by SportRayne (rayningnight)

Ship: Miyuki/Sawamura

What does it mean, when you remember snapshots of your own future?

Is it your future at all, if you change it?

Would you even want to change it?

(Look I am WEAK for BAMF Eijun and time travel fics and Miyuki being a tanuki bastard, okay? Time travel fic where Eijun gets feelings of people he knew before in the future. Really good so far and am so excited over this fic!)

The path we walk by WindsOfTime

Ship: Miyuki/Sawamura

Eijun goggles at the magazine she just shoved into his hands. "W-Wakana!" "I know!" she says, beaming. "That's my soulmate!!" "I know!!" "My soulmate plays baseball!!"

(Became such an instant fave so fast it's unbelievable. I LOVE THESE IDIOTS SO MUCH! Best soulmate fic in this fandom, hands down!)

-

[One Piece]

switching places by fireflywitch

Zoro is 21 and wakes up in a desert they already saved, on a ship that they burned two years ago, and standing next to a man who is supposed to be dead. Except, that can’t be right, can it?

Zoro is 19 and wakes up on a ship that’s too big, next to a robot wearing a swimsuit, and he’s supposed to fight something called a Kaido. Also, he’s missing an eye, and no one’s even a little worried about it?

(or)

Time travel is a shitshow, and Zoro didn't sign up for this.

(FUCKING HILARIOUS ZORO IS THE BEST PERSON TO SEND BACK IN TIME CAUSE HE'D BE TERRIBLE YET FANTASTIC AT IT I CAN'T MAN FIEWNOPFEW)

No Time To Crank The Sun by VIKAN

He’s surrounded by strangers, but they’re all trying to convince him otherwise. Or, Zoro faces a mysterious and relentless challenge that he just can’t wrap his head around.

(This ripped my heart open, I cried reading this my god. Please read this, the pain is so worth it and Zoro and his relationship with his crew is so good here. This reminded me why I love the Straw Hats so much!)

-

[Fairy Tail]

to learn about a lucy (with a look into the future.) by るる凪 - nagi (arurun)

A watching the future fanfic.

It's currently X781, three years before canon. A group of Fairy Tail mages find themselves in a large building, with no known way out.

They sit down, and they watch the future.

(This is so much more fun than I thought it would be and I'm so happy I found this fic. This fic reignited my old love for this fandom and I hope it does for you too!)

-

[Harry Potter]

sunflowers by Marnie27

One day, a young girl sits on the edge of a well. On this day, she falls in. Then the next, she’s not even a ‘she’ anymore. He’s Peter Pettigrew — doomed to die at the hands of his (betrayed) friend’s son.

Peter is selfish, bitter and brash. He’s not some fairy tale hero, he doesn’t care if everyone around him dies, as long as he lives. The marauders are annoying and childish. Survival is his priority, and he can’t afford to face distractions.

This just makes the fact that soulmates are now apparently a thing all the more godawful.

(And then another day years later he falls into an entirely new impossibility, Remus Lupin in tow, right into the third book of Harry Potter. Smack bang on the other Peter Pettigrew’s grave).

It’s confusing and graceless, and entirely something that would happen to him of all people.

(Self-insert fic where a girl reincarnates into Peter Pettigrew! And there are soulmates! And it's angsty and hilarious and Peter is an Asshole (somewhat unintentionally lol). Always a fan of biased pov fics and characters slowly improving themselves and their mental health! Cause dying! Is! Traumatic! *smiley face* Please read!)

-

[Crossovers]

he's a killer queen, sunflower, guillotine by hoye

Fandoms: Fullmetal Alchemist, Harry Potter

He has to be the weirdest Hufflepuff Harry’s ever seen. Scratch that, he’s the weirdest Hufflepuff Hogwarts has ever seen.

(One thing everyone could agree on: NEVER call Edward Elric short.)

(This is peak Edward Elric and all the best things about him and I'm just having a Good Time. Friendships! Logical solutions! Marauder screentime! And so much More! *bright grin* It's a fun place here!)

[chidoroki]

TPN - “Dreams Come True”

What better way to cheer up the TPN fandom after the second season’s final episode than with the special exhibition chapter finally being fully translated. I caught glimpses of a few pages here and there over the past couple months but seeing all the children live happily together in the human world in their own little village that they made close to Emma and Alex warms my heart. Of course I would’ve loved if we got to see more of the GP Resistance (because the anime denied us of them) but following the GF kids around the world as they experience their dreams is fair enough. We started the series alongside them so might as well finish strong with them too. I really loved seeing everyone grow up but no matter how old they get or how much time passes, I’ll probably never get used to seeing Emma without her iconic “63194.” It’s a bittersweet feeling for me, but her smiles bring me so much joy and I’m beyond happy that she accepted everyone into her life as they accepted her without her memories.

I haven’t a clue on how much time passed since everyone found Emma in ch181 to now, but seeing her call out everyone’s names is a little detail that I love so much considering she had no idea who anyone was at first. Trying to remember 60+ names doesn’t seem like an easy task to me. No doubt I was just as shocked as our girl upon learning these mere children bought a goddamn plane! We learn in a couple pages that it’s because of Norman’s company that they can afford it, but still, he’s like 15 or 16 now? He’s still a child! And I’m impressed! Not only at him, but that Oliver and Violet became pilots as well! It’s especially cute when you remember that Lucas gave Oliver a little toy plane during their time at Goldy Pond.

Speaking of GP, is it just me or does Emma’s current outfit resemble her GP one just a little bit? Sure we have no idea what color scheme this one has but come on, the short jacket, the dark shirt and jeans.. just imagine it! Jemima, Yvette, Alicia and Mark remade Gillian’s original GP outfit sometime before the Grace Field Raid arc (ch137 extra page) so I don’t doubt they could’ve done the same for Emma. Of course that’s just me being completely hopeful and missing the Goldy Pond arc to death but yeah! I’m also so happy to see Chris up and moving again! Seeing him wake up briefly in ch181 was nice but this is so much better. I imagine he and Emma have a lot to catch up on in terms of stories, with him being unconscious since ch105 and Emma not remembering anything.

But here we go, the original 15 escapees plus Norman, Phil, Sherry, I believe I saw Carol somewhere and a couple other random kiddos ready to see the entire world. They get to accomplish so much.. and in a single day too I believe? At least that’s what Phil and Alicia say a bit later about everyone’s wishes, but aahh what a lucky bunch. Hell, I’ll say we’re lucky readers too to be able to see such a great story. Can’t thank Shirai and Demizu enough y’all. I wish we got to see more of Alex though. He’s such a kind soul but I’m sure he’ll be just fine staying behind with everyone else.

This entire page where we learn about Norman as a CEO is gold. I still can’t believe this child successfully built up an entire multipurpose company not only to help their search for Emma but also because he didn’t want to live off the Ratri clan. I wish I knew about this last week when writing out Norman’s birthday post because hell yeah this deserves some praise! AND he managed to graduate school as well during all that! Well, by skipping grades which totally makes sense. I mean, if he managed to pass all the Grace Field and Lambda tests effortlessly I’m sure normal human world school was a piece of cake for him. Holy shit dude, keep on impressing me why don’t ya. Not only him but Nigel and Sonya too! I’m not surprised that Vincent helped out but I’m glad those two got a tiny moment to shine as well! Ray is another obvious choice when it comes to helping Norman, as they’re best friends and he’s always been good with machines.. but boy, I can’t take you seriously when you’re just sitting there unamused and eating chips! Hahah I love him so much! And the fact he replies to Norman’s idea with just a simple “kay” is an eternal mood.

Okay boys aside, can we talk about our fabulous girls now? Because oh my god, they’re so darn beautiful! They’re more fashionable than I’ll ever be and it’s so cute how they drag Emma along to take advantage of the 3-for-1 deal. But our girl pulls off that sporty look so well! (r.i.p. goldy pond outfit ver2.0). I’m not at all surprised that Nat wanted to go see the opera. That's perfect for him and I’d like to think the anime did something similar with that one shot we see of him in the human world. We don’t see him in a theater like this but to me it looks like he’s on the streets of Broadway? At least that’s the vibe I get from it. I’m sure there was something music related on one of those signs.

I can’t get over how adorable all the children look and how happy they are fulfilling their wishes, even if some of them aren’t as extravagant as others. Like eating a fluffy pancake and a ton of ice cream? We can do that whenever we want. But for these kids, it means everything and they absolutely deserve to experience such simple joys like that after all the harsh nonsense they’ve been through. I also love how Ray continues to be such a great older brother by still looking out for them too. The fact he remains completely unfazed by the haunted house is perfect. This boy has been haunted by his own nightmares and demons his entire life, there’s no way a couple of lousy jump scares are gonna spook him. Though I do find it funny that Alicia and Rossi still manage to get scared while Yvette is having the time of her life. I can’t help but laugh at Thoma’s “Shirai face” as well.

I find it interesting that out of all the different kinds of exhibits they could’ve shown us while Rossi visits a museum, they give us dinosaurs.. like that seems so silly to me. Y’all have seen several demons in your young lives already and yet dinosaurs manage to amaze you too? God these kids are precious. And then our boy Phil finally gets to see and ride a train! Just look how happy he is! The poor kid can’t even sit still he’s so darn excited and I can’t help but smile with him! Thankfully the anime showed us this too.

We eventually get to Ray’s wish and guys.. oh my fucking god. Tell me that this is not the absolute best and prettiest smile we get to see from him!! It honestly leaves me speechless okay? Ray never imagined he would ever get to see the outside world, let alone live past the age of 12, and yet here he is, seeing such a beautiful sight such as this, right in front of him instead of from inside a book. You can’t believe how happy and proud of him I am right now. Did you see how ecstatic I was when the anime kept Isabella alive? Multiply that feeling by ten and there ya go. That’s my level of happiness upon seeing my favorite boy smile like THAT! AAHHH!! That panel is gonna live rent free in my head until the end of time. I can’t get over how damn perfect it is. His smile is so pure and how he looks like he’s in complete awe is beautiful. He’s about to burst into tears and I swear I might do the same because I’m making myself emotional over this fantastic boy. Someone hold me.

No seriously, hold me because we’re about to get into some angst as we move onto to Emma’s wish. We all know that ever since 2039 her one dream was to ride a giraffe once they got outside, so here we are, about ten years later and the animals in question are within reach. Our girl should be totally excited, right? Ha, not quite.

That wish was something the old Emma wanted, but since demon god had to be such a bastard, this Emma doesn’t know what to think, let alone what to even feel. She hasn’t experienced the same hardships as her family. She hasn’t gone through hell and back while holding onto that one wish that would make all the suffering worth it. The amount of joy everyone else felt upon living out their dreams, she wonders if she would be able to feel it too.

They brought her here to make her happy, but is this truly want she wants as well? This is old Emma’s wish after all. What about her and what she wants? Could this wish make her just as happy as her old self? She knows her family is only trying to help, but seeing her doubt herself does a number on my heart. Even without her memories, she’s still the same Emma deep down, as she doesn’t want to disappoint her family. She spends so much time worrying about living up to her family’s expectations, to try and be that Emma they all love so dearly.

Little does she know that she acts the exact same as usual, almost as if nothing has changed when she finally expresses how much she wants to ride a giraffe. And that’s great considering when they first arrived at the giraffes, no on had even mentioned riding them. She came across that feeling all on her own and everyone else can’t help but laugh and feel relieved. Her mind may have forgotten but her heart remembers everything. There is no “old Emma” and “new Emma” to her family, just “Emma” and words can’t express how wholesome that is because they love her regardless. All that matters to them is Emma’s happiness because if anyone deserves to feel and experience that, it’s her.

I just made myself tear up, damn it. I started this series with season one okay? I heard about this precious girl’s dream within the first minute of the first episode and here I am, a little bit over two years later, finally reading about it coming true and seeing that bright as hell smile on her face. Do you know how amazing it is to come full circle like that? My heart feels so full right now. I’m beyond proud of her and love her to death. Say what you want but I believe this to be the true manga ending in my eyes.

(damn this series for always getting me emotional)

[haloshornsinkstains]

Carrying This Imagination, I'll Go

The aftermath of the Inarizaki vs Karasuno game and how it affected y/n, their manager, and her relationship with the team.

Kita x F!Reader (but its pretty mild)

cw: female reader, attempts at writing Kansai dialect

a/n: i’m debating turning this one into a series, I have ideas and I've written some of it past this chapter but still it may be a while between chapters if I do. At least until work eases up and I’m not pulling overtime so much.

As the ball hit the floor you felt your heart lodge itself in your throat, grip white knuckled against the edge of the bench as your muscles screamed at you to move. There would be time for that later, you told yourself, blinking back tears as you watched your boys congratulate the other team before turning to line up and bow. The few simple words of thanks lingering in the air like the bittersweet sting of a wound. They filed out of the hall, a line of bowed heads and black jerseys, and still you couldn't let yourself move. Not until the coach rested a gentle hand on your back did you unfurl your fingers and slowly push yourself to your feet.

"C'mon l/n. They'll need ya around."

You nodded, exhaling a long sigh as you glanced towards the bottles on the side. "I'll get water."

You didn't see his small frown as you collected the empty bottles and headed for the taps, smiling at the other teams manager as you passed. 

"Hope to see ya around. Good luck."

She smiled softly in return and you could almost feel the burning jealousy of her team on your back. Not that you could blame them, she was gorgeous. 

"For once he's right." You chuckle. "Next year Shin, ya better be watchin' us 'cause we're gonna win Nationals."

Later you carried the newly filled bottles through the corridor, listening for the loud shouts of your idiots. You find them not long after by the stairs, just in time to hear the Captain's soft spoken admission and Atsumu's impassioned reply. You smile up at them, holding the bottles aloft.

"Yeah! An' when I'm a famous volleyball player yer better tell all ya friends that ya taught me!"

You shake your head and behind him Suna laughs, clapping one hand on the blonde setter’s shoulder. “Oh don’t worry Tsumu, I’ll tell everyone plenty of stories about you.”

You dissolve into full blown giggles, memories of the plentiful escapades of the Miya twins flashing behind your eyes and the bottles of water forgotten at your feet. You don’t see the way Kita’s face softens into a smile as he watches you, the pain of the loss softened a little by the antics of his team. Suna though, his analytical gaze doesn’t miss the affection in the captain's eyes, and he nods his head just a little at the older man. Eventually your breathing evens out and you wipe a few stray tears from the corners of your eyes, nodding towards the water bottles.

“Well I didn’t lug all this water here for ya to not drink it! It was a long game, grab a drink everyone.” You hand out the bottles with a smile, turning to glance over your shoulder once they’re all drinking. “When yer all done we’re heading back to the hotel, and you stinky boys are going straight to the bath.”

“Oi! We don’t stink!” Atsumu’s outburst sent water and spit flying all over Osamu and Aran, and you burst into giggles all over again as both men smacked him in retaliation, Osamu yelling at his twin for being a disgusting scrub.

Before another fight could break out between the Miya’s you heard Kita clearing his throat, levelling them both with a stern look. “A hot bath will do all of our muscles good.”

You offered him a soft smile in return and nodded. “See, Captain knows. C’mon stinky boys.”

Amidst the grumbles the team headed back towards the bus, you falling into step besides Suna with a chuckle. Gently you bumped your shoulder against his arm.

“You did real good out there Rin. Glasses really got on yer nerves huh?” You hummed, glancing at him sideways. 

“Hmm. Surprised you aren’t crying yet.” He chuckled, gently ruffling your hair. “You were sobbing when we lost to Itachiyama.”

“Later. Lookin’ after you boys comes first.”

“We had the same idea.”

The tears didn’t fall until you were washing the jerseys, as much as they didn’t really need them the next day it gave you some time to be alone. A place to cry, hidden from the boys you wanted to be strong for, the sound of your sniffles drowned out by the hum of the machine. Under the dull hum you didn’t hear the sound of the door opening, startling when the familiar warmth of a body filled the space beside you.

You relax, feeling lips press against the crown of your head as you nod.

“It needed to be done.”

Kita chuckles quietly and you can picture the small nod of agreement.

“Routine is important.” He agrees, lifting the washbasket ready to collect the wet jerseys. “Routine is the foundation that made me who I am.”

“And it makes ya happy.” You laughed.

“And it makes me happy.”

“I just… it felt like something I could do to help. I feel like I let ya all down, like-” you hiccuped, holding back a sob “I wish we had won.”

Strong arms encircled you, Kita pulling you into the warmth of his chest. One hand gently petted your hair, letting you tremble against him as you cried.

“I know. But, at the same time, I’d like to see how far those crows go.” His grip tightened, just a little. “The boys were talkin’ about watchin’ the rest of the matches, I think ya should come too.”

You nodded. “I’d like that.”

Watching games without the pressure of winning was a surprisingly good way to relax, and you were able to focus on the abilities of the other teams. Picking up plays that you could suggest to the boys, and making note of players who would be worth keeping an eye on for next year's competition. Inarizaki might be a powerhouse school but it was always worthwhile to keep an eye on the others. Kita and Aran had disappeared to watch Itachiyama with Omimi, while you, Rin and the Miya twins wanted to see Karasuno’s next match. The others had their phones, so wherever they’d wandered off to you weren’t too worried.

“Those two are scary even from here.”

You tipped your head back to smile at Osamu. “You two were pretty scary yourselves yesterday. But Nekoma are pretty terrifyin’ too.”

Rin nodded. “They’re a great defensive team.”

“Yeah. That middle blocker Captain of their is- holy shit! That Libero is so cool!”

“Yaku.”

You whipped your head around to stare at the two men who had appeared next to you, noting their white jackets.

“Um, bless you? Hey, yer from Fukurodani right? I was plannin’ to come watch ya play later, you guys are awesome.” You grinned, leaning across Rin to wave at the two men.

“Hear that Akaashi! She thinks we’re awesome!”

“I did Bokuto-san. Nekoma’s libero, his name is Yaku-san, and he is indeed very talented.” The dark haired setter, Akaashi, sat himself next to Suna and gestured for Bokuto to join him. “You’re from Inarizaki High yes?”

“We are, I’m l/n, this is Suna and those two behind us are Atsumu and Osamu Miya. It’s nice to meet ya Akaashi-san. And thank you for the information.” You nodded turning back to the match.

“Kuroo is cool too.” The grey-haired Ace sounded almost pouty.

“He is Bokuto-san. I’m sorry to hear about your loss to Karasuno, from what I hear it was a close game.”

Suna nodded, eyes focused on the middle blockers while you sighed and offered the two men an apologetic smile. You didn’t miss the way Bokuto muttered something about Akaashi wanting Karasuno to win but were polite enough to ignore it.

“Get back here ya scrub! Yer not having my onigiri!”

“Learn to share ya pig!”

With an irritated growl you shook your head. “Sorry, those are my idiots. Rin, if you even think about pullin’ out yer phone I’ll be after you next.” 

You vaulted over the chairs, stalking towards the arguing twins just in time to see Osamu preparing to kick his brother. With a grimace you put yourself between the twins, gripping each by the front of their shirts and glaring at them in turn.

“Oi, idiots! Yer gonna sit down and behave yerselves or so help me god…”

“But y/n!” 

“Don’t but me! Sit yer asses down and behave.” You narrowed your eyes. “And if yer not gonna listen to me, I’m sure I can get Kita to come here.”

Suna chuckled, slipping his phone back into his hoodie and nodding towards Bokuto and Akaashi. “And that’s why our manager is the best.”

“Agashee! Did you see that?!”

“I did Bokuto-san.”

“She’s so cool!”

You laughed, jumping back over into your seat and shaking your head. “Glad ya think so, dealing with those idiots had to have some upsides.” 

Akaashi made a small noise that sounded suspiciously like a chuckle before it was interrupted by a quiet beeping from his pocket. Sighing he stood and gently pulled on Bokuto's arm.

"Bokuto-San, we need to go prepare for our match. It was good to meet you all." He gave a polite bow and a soft smile, his reserved nature all the more striking compared to the chaos surrounding you.

"Come cheer for us l/n!"

"Likewise. I'll be sure t' come find ya when they finish." You grinned, waving the pair off. "Ya done makin' heart eyes Samu?"

"Shurrup, yer always droolin' over players." 

You shook your head. "I only 'drool' over one player, I just admire the rest." You huffed, ignoring the heat in your cheeks.

Focusing back on the match your heart felt lighter than it had done in a long time, here, surrounded by people you loved and the sound of volleyball, you came to a realisation. This was something you always wanted in your life. Volleyball was something you never wanted to leave behind no matter what.

The rest of nationals went by in a blur, Kita joining you for more matches than not once the pain of losing so early had dulled. You cheered for Fukurodani as promised, and joined the Miya twins watching the duo of terrifying first years from Karasuno. Every moment just cemented the idea that you wanted Volleyball in your life forever further and further into your mind.

Time continued moving forwards. You cried when the third years graduated, Suna took so many pictures of your teary face you almost threw the phone at his head. But the third years graduation meant the end of so many things, their patience and calming influence, the routines you had built up since joining the club, and your first relationship. Still time seemed to fly, the Miya twins made for surprisingly good leaders (officially Atsumu was captain, but you were grateful for Osamu being there to keep him in check no matter how many fights you broke up) and all too soon you found yourself at Nationals once more, earning your revenge against Karasuno for the previous year. Your unlikely friendship with the new Fukurodani captain cemented when the pair of you exchanged numbers on the first day. (Osamu had pouted over it for hours, and none of your insistence you were just friends helped).

University only fuelled your focus, managing the boys team there and watching them rise through the ranks. Joining in on practice to help them out and feeling the old familiar rush in your veins. You kept in touch with the other second years, thankful for their support when your family were disappointed in you. They were the ones there when you graduated, and the ones to throw a celebratory party when you landed a job with the JVA. And they were the ones there to keep your spirits up when a few years into your dream job it seemed like you were about to lose everything, even when they didn’t all know the details.

[anxiouspotatorants]

heyy first off im obsessed w your account and the underdog quartet but also i feel like, with your new jess/paris playlist post, we need to acknowledge paris and jess’s first interaction when paris went into luke’s diner in “Richard goes to stars hollow” they had a very subtle interaction but he was clearly memorable enough to her to remember him and his name. I wonder if whenever paris when to stars hollow in the future she would look for jess what do you think

Thank you so much for this ask and the kind words!!! I’m obviously obsessed with UQ too, so finding more people who love that dynamic is just amazing!

Also yes we only had about two direct interactions between Paris and Jess but holy shit was the platonic chemistry there!! Paris bothering to remember him is something I would love to take as a sign that she was a Jess gal (especially since if you combine that with Keiko Agena saying she and Lane are team Jess, that means all my faves support my ship!)

Now for Jess and Paris specifically, I could honestly give you three different types of answers for this. First is that ASP and company didn’t feel like exploring that dynamic, so Paris probably doesn’t think about Jess or seek him out in the future, especially not after Rory’s break up. But that take is boring so let’s go for wild headcanons!

The second approach is on the more realistic side. I bet that Paris would avoid bringing up Jess every time he popped into her mind in front of Rory, but she would be too desperate to finally have that decent conversationalist to not bug Rory about him. She probably wouldn’t head over to Stars Hollow of her own accord considering how disappointed she was with the research results for that article, but she would ask about when Jess could come over to Hartford so she could rip his literary takes to shreds at a nearby cafe or at the elder Gilmores. Once Jess and Rory were a couple, Paris would double down on her requests but probably only have them met once or twice (Jess has work, Rory still has a tendency to compartmentalize parts of her life etc.). Post-breakup Paris would take Rory’s side, but secretly be sad to see a potential friend go. She probably felt like this guys really could be something, not just for Rory who seemed to finally get decent taste in boys, but for Paris who was finally starting to get more true friends. She carries a secret team Jess torch for the rest of the series but hides it in general criticism of any and all guys Rory is involved with.

On to approach three, aka balls to the walls whatever I want!! Hold on to your hat because this will be a long and windy ride:

After the diner-meet, Paris is intrigued by the guy who played along with her interrogation and eye-flirted with Rory. She doesn’t think she’ll see him again, but she would be lying if she said she didn’t want to.

After the dinner at Rory’s, Paris is honestly elated to finally have a great literary conversation with a guy her age. The only one to have come close is Rory, and that doesn’t say much for the «opposite sex» in Paris’ eyes. But she’s also furiously disagreeing with Jess’ «Austen loves Bukowski»-take, so she writes a whole several page argumentative essay and forces Rory to deliver it to Jess the next school day.

Jess responds not with a letter, but by having Rory hand Paris an annotated («blasphemy!») copy of a Bukowski work. There are no arguments from Jess notes, just underlines of quotes he thinks Austen would approve of, and excerpts from different Austen works put in the margins for comparison. Paris despises him for how much she is seeing his point.

At some point Rory get’s sick of being a carrier pigeon and drags Paris with her to ST after school so the two can fight in person. All three stay until Lorelai pops over for dinner, and Paris realizes she needs to haul herself over to the bus. She’s hungry and worried about the time she should have spent on homework, but ultimately really happy about the day.

She’s bummed to see Jess go after the car accident, but doesn’t have much time to think about it between school and… well, school. She does end up being one of the few Rory can talk to about Jess without getting the whole «bad bad boy»-speech she gets over in ST and at her grandparents’.

Rory doesn’t tell Paris Jess is back until the very end of their Washington trip when Paris finds the unfinished letter and Paris is boiling. She does cool quickly, but only to constantly bug Rory about when the three of them are going to meet up again for coffee and verbal war. Rory gets so stressed about it that at some point she gives Paris the number to Luke’s and tells her to go on her own for all Rory cares.

Paris does. Jess is surprised, but they get in the groove quick. What doesn’t go as smoothly is Paris asking what the hell is going on between him and Rory. His non-answers pretty much spell everything out, and in a rare moment of comradery, Paris decides to turn the conversation in to hating on Dean. Jess appreciates it. It doesn’t happen again, but Paris firmly puts herself in the team Jess camp from then on.

Paris is releived once Jess and Rory finally are together and it is great! More cafe talks! Study sessions! Movie nights! They even sneak both Paris and Lane out into concerts! Paris feels like for the first time in a very long time, she has real friends her own age. The kind who actually like you for you and want to spend time with you for you, not just to get better grades or a better reputation.

Paris sucks at being strong for Rory when Jess leaves. Like, she takes it really personal. This was supposed to be the one good guy, and he decided to be just like everyone else. But with time she learns to coach Rory into speaking her mind about the whole thing, and to support her in her own Paris-y way.

What she doesn’t tell Rory is that at some point after summer break (either because she gets hold of Jess for some scolding or because Lane does and spills to Paris or even if Jess gets in touch himself) Jess starts sending Paris beat up books he collects on the road around the country. None of them feature letters (at first), but annotations at the beginning declaring his safety and momentary location, as well as his general style annotations of the book inside the text. Paris starts responding with letters, and with time they start talking on phones and through email.

Paris helps Jess with his GED. They make it an equal study-buddy thing because Paris needs help taking certain writers seriously in her essays. Most of their sessions are over the phone, and a lot of it is just them daring each other to actually try. Paris gets actual stars on her improved essays, and Jess passes with flying colours.

Paris doesn’t know about Truncheon until Jess stands in front of her place ages later, dressed like a Kids Bop version of himself and holding a messengerbag with his debut novel. Paris tears through it in two hours (forcing Jess to sit on the couch next to her the whole time) and then spends another half hour furiously trying to tear it to shreds but actually praising it. She gives him their first hug ever, and hopes this afternoon is a sign they’ll slowly get back to being close friends in person.

Paris sucks at hiding how team Jess she is. So. Much. She does have genuine critiques of Logan and other guys, but her gut-defenses of Jess at random times in the day and weird reminiscing back to the «good old days» of diner talk after school gives her away immediately. Rory is uncomfortable, but Paris doesn’t even change her mind after Rory still picks Logan.

What she does do is invite Jess over for grown up evenings with Doyle. Whenever Rory is scheduled to be out and Jess needs to visit Luke anyway, Paris extends her invitation. They test wines based on price and taste, watch cult classics, eat takeout (in honour of Paris’ very first Mac and Cheese night) and talk for hours. One day wires cross and Jess gets in while Rory is there/Rory gets back while Jess is there and things get awkward.

Paris invites Jess to the graduation. Yes she has a limited amount of tickets and yes it’s weird to invite your friend who has barely been around ever but damn it she wants him there. He came to her when he was celebrating his accomplishments, she wants him to be there for hers.

They actually grow even closer as adults; emailing, texting and calling regularly. About 70% of it is general banter and picking on everything and everyone around them, but it’s a far more loving kind now — not that anyone who isn’t them would know, from the outside it looks like they want to kill each other. Regardless of outcome, Paris remains forever team Jess, and the two end up having each other’s backs for life.

So this went long and away from the point (and I only went through Paris’ pov!) but it was fun to write! I hope you like rant answers!

[bonesandthebees]

ok official sd anon reply while i am waiting for this flight to take off !!!

pronouns she/her so hot girl summer is Accurate hooked up w intern friend before we left for plane rice purity score has dropped to 57. it was like 90 at the beginning of this summer. what is happening to me. hope your followers enjoy my Life Updates too because they are definitely. something. how is it that i can check off threesome but not held hands romantically LMAO

lmao i’ll actually get a twitter to check ! if i see you in the crowd i will just send you another anon ask or smth no idea

also yes!! open mic was so so fun i really enjoyed i’m gonna miss it and the host and the people! last time i went there was a chemE phd dude reading a poem and then i told him i was also chemE and he then proceeded to try to convince me to get a phd. it will not be happening.

fifth grade best friend <3 i love her <3 i might visit her over the school year! just dip for a weekend to go see her

also holy shit dude i feel like this round of covid is worse i haven’t gotten it yet ( knock on wood ) but idk that sounds really scary

also pedialyte in rock candy! was not good the rock candy didn’t fully crystallize so it was just pedialyte sugar LMAO half syrup half hard candy it looked so funny bc we taped chopsticks together in a cross to make a little platform for the stick to rest on so now it just looks like a bunch of crucifixes in red liquid

also dude i am in the same boat now that the internship is over LMAO i kept making i’m gonna call HR jokes though

tequila taste bad. idk what it is about it ! but i got told i was taking a tequila shot on tuesday at top golf and i didn’t gag taking it!!!! one of the other interns was like i’m so proud of you you’ve grown so much since she watched me gag on the first six at the beginning of the year lmao

also <333 thank you!!!! ok tbf it is glorified file explorer i once again feel like i shouldn’t be given this much responsibility but yes i did put in a lot of work and it’s something the place is gonna use for the foreseeable future! so ! i’m happy about the effort i put in. also on my last two days i got to crawl inside a boiler when it was off and then open up another one + stand on top of it. very cool.

oooh congrats!!! it’s so hard to get good summer session grades cause i feel like people taking summer classes are more concentrated in whatever field they’re in! i am still hating physics have not gone to a single class yet (asynch so it’s fine)

also what. what does that even mean. i’m taking molecular bio next sem but oh my god i know exactly what you mean about bluescreening bc someone asked me smth about azeotropes and i just brain blanked entirely even though it was just last sem. what class is that for???

aww ok that’s such a good job but the separation sucks. i’m glad you got to spend time w your best friend! how were the bars do you have any stories?

it’s so funny our situations are flipped but similar bc i go down to sd to see my best friend since she’s graduating early for law school and she sometimes comes up to la when i have classes.

also :( sf trip :(

is there like stuff you could do w science related writing? idk one of my interviewers talked abt like. being able to explain science in easy terms to the general public is a super valuable skill!! my mom keeps telling me go law bc science knowledge is v much desired. lab tech pay sucks lmao

but!!! you will find a good job you like and also your writing is great i’m a huge fan i fully believe you can break into the writing industry

also fashion industry????? what?????

omg your friend that’s so impressive phd right out of undergrad in BOSTON???

also also plane is taking off but I AGREE I AM NOT READY FOR ADULTHOOD i have had three separate conversations about other people thinking about if they want kids and i’m like. we are basically still children. wtf. stop.

AYYY HOT GIRL SUMMER FR

that is such a rice purity drop holy shit. really how HAVE you been able to check off threesome but not hold hands romantically like?? you're doing all the steps backwards but hey if you're having fun with it who cares!

fun fact i'm not logged into this tumblr on my phone. i have two tumblr accounts, my og and this one, and I only stay logged into this one on my computer while I keep my og one on my phone. so anytime you guys send asks if i'm not at my computer i'm not gonna see it for a while lol

yeah i don't blame you for not wanting to go the phd route. I have some friends that are preparing to defend their theses rn and it seems so unbelievably stressful

I mean I think I would've had the chest pain whenever I got covid whether it be this round or an earlier one since I had the same chest pain when I got vaccinated. like I think it's just my body's response to the covid antigens or smth, but yeah either way it's not fun

yeah had a feeling pedialyte rock candy wasn't gonna work out

tequila shots aren't that bad depending on the quality of the tequila so good for you!!

even if it's a glorified file explorer it's clearly gonna provide a really useful service to the company and it still takes skill to implement and categorize services like that so!! give yourself credit that's still so cool!! also ayyy fun boiler times that sounds very cool

god that's such a mood i also hate physics. one of the summer session classes i took last session was physics, and now i'm in physics again but it's physics lab this time so it's a bit less intensive. still hate it :( and yeah summer session classes are usually hard for me bc they're so rushed but it is what it is

lol that question was for a class i'm taking on the molecular basis of human disease. the lectures aren't super complicated, but then for the homework we have to read these super dense research papers that use a ton of complex terminology. basically the question is just asking why these two mutation genes we were reading about were named the way they were. so like why is the C580Y gene named the way it is was something I had to answer. I think I got it right but I really have no idea lmaoooo

the bars were good!! the only real story I have is when we went to the part time lover bar in SD (with the peach cocktail I recommended you) we met this group of british guys who were roadtripping around California and ended up chatting with them the whole night. they were very nice and fun to talk to, and instead of trying to hit on us like we both expected, at one point they asked us if we met on tinder and that's when me and my friend realized they thought we were dating which was extremely funny. we did nothing to dissuade the assumption. very fun time overall!

it is funny how our situations are flipped. also yoooo graduating early for law school?? that's so cool good for her!!

I've considered science writing but tbh I don't think it's something I'd wanna do?? like if I can find jobs for it I'll take them of course but that would definitely be more of a temporary gig and not a full blown pursue this type deal

aww thank you I really hope I'll be able to break in somewhere in the writing industry. it's been my dream to be a published author ever since I was a little kid so let's hold out hope lmao

fashion industry! my mom has her own clothing brand! she's been doing this since I was 5, so I basically grew up in the industry since I always went to trade shows and photoshoots with her. I'm very good at working for her because I don't need any training really since I grew up just watching my mom work and helping her out every once in a while. the industry is very stressful but it's still pretty cool! just not something I want to do career-wise

RIGHT?? it was the only phd program she applied to. she said "yeah I'm just gonna apply and if I don't get in I don't get in it's fine I'll wait a few years" bc she wasn't planning on doing grad school right out of undergrad anyway, but then she got in and was like oh guess it was meant to be

every time i open instagram either someone my age is getting married or having kids like. what. please stop we're still so young oh my godddd

have a safe flight!

[qvackityhq]

Mine [18+ GeorgeNotFound x Reader]

Hi guys! This is another GeorgeNotFound x Reader one shot that was requested by Anonymous! Disclaimer: This story contains NSFW content in which the characters engage in sexual activities and is intended for mature (18+) audiences! That being said, I hope you guys enjoy and as always, requests are open and you can send them in here! (This is a George x Female Reader one shot by the way!) [: — Froggie♡

Mine 

(I highly suggest listening to the song Mine by awfultune while reading this, as I was listening to it while writing this!)

It started like this: You and George were next door neighbours growing up. You always found yourselves fighting with sticks that you would pretend were swords in his tree house, or travelling the neighourhood on your bicycles in search of any new land to conquer. And since you were neighbours, that also meant the two of you went to the same school. Throughout your whole elementary school years, the two of you were inseparable; attached at the hips, they would say.

It wasn’t until middle school when the two of you began to part ways. George wanted to hang out with the boys his age; ��It’s embarrassing only hanging out with a girl, Y/N!” He would say. And so you let him go. The bicycle rides came to an end, and you can’t remember the last time you stepped inside the treehouse. But that was okay; George was happy with his new friends, and you should be, too.

It continued like this: You and George haven’t talked in ages. The both of you were now in your senior year of high school, weeks away from graduating and all going your separate ways. Separate ways. 

“And so you all need to order your caps and gowns before this Friday so we get all the orders in!” Your principals voice rang throughout the auditorium. “It won’t be long until you’re all going your separate ways!”

And there it was again: separate ways. And as your eyes met a familiar brown pair that is sat rows away from you for just a split second, you realised that you were all too familiar with going separate ways.

It remains like this: It’s the last Saturday before graduation and you receive a text from an unknown number. Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion as you unlocked your phone and examined the message.

Hey, is this Y/N?

Do you reply? Do you not reply? Maybe it’s just one of your girl friends who got a new number. So, you decide to reply with a casual: Yes (: Who’s this?

The text gets delivered and you wait. And wait. And wait. Until finally, an hour later, you get a reply back. 

This is George, I was wondering how you were doing. You read the reply over and over again, taking in every single word. There was no way this was really George, the two of you haven’t spoke in ages. Why is he just now reaching out?

You find yourself typing a reply, however, and hitting the send button as soon as you finish. I’m doing alright.. How are you?

And this time, you get a response almost instantly that read: I’m alright. You going to Dream’s party tonight? 

You bite at your lip as you read the text. You had been invited by Dream himself to attend this end-of-the-year party, but when he asked you told him it wasn’t your type of thing. But now... You feel like you had to be there. So, you texted George telling him you would be there and locked your phone again. You felt your heart begin to race with nervousness, but you quickly shrugged it off and began getting ready to go to this party.

You had to make sure you looked your best, you thought to yourself, and then paused. Looked your best? For who? For George? You shook your head at the intrusive thoughts, and continued to get dressed and ready for the night.

A little bit after 11:00pm, you find yourself examining your outfit and makeup in the mirror. And in all honesty--You thought you looked good. So, you grab your phone and keys and head outside to your car. You feel the nerves coming back as you begin driving to Dream’s house, and they only worsen the closer you get to the home.

When you arrive, the party had already been going on for about and hour. So, you find a parking spot that’s down the road a bit and get out. Even from down the road, you can hear the sound of bass from the music and the loud bickering of your peers. As you finally approach the front door after pushing past some of your classmates; you are met face to face with a drunken Dream, who of course was wearing some random mask he had from Halloween.

“Ohhh, Y/NNNN,” He slurred out, wrapping his arm around your shoulders and pulling you into the crowded house. “Gogy was lookin’ for ya! Did you find him?” He spoke to you, breath lingering of alcohol. You scrunched your nose up a bit as you shook your head.

“No, I just got here!” You shouted to him over the loudness of the music mixed with yelling and singing. Dream then just pointing to the kitchen before removing his arm from around you and stumbling off to who knows where.

You slowly made you way to the kitchen; the feeling of not belonging filling your chest as you looked around at all of the people you knew but didn’t know all interacting with each other. And as soon as you entered the kitchen, your eyes met the familiar brown pair again.

You freeze in your spot as you watch the taller boy begin to make his way over to you, and you could tell from the way he stumbled a bit over his feet that he had been drinking, too.

“Y/N,” is the only thing he says as he now stands in front of you, mixed drink in hand and a grin on his red-bitten lips.

“George,” You reply back, raising an eyebrow at him as you examine him from head to toe. His dark brown hair was matted to his forehead with sweat, eyes and cheeks a bit red from drinking, and clout goggles hooked onto his shirt. He looks a mess, you thought to yourself.

“You look.. Stunning,” He tells you and you watch as his brown eyes now look your body up and down and then up again. “I’m glad you made it,” he then says, and you can’t tell if this is him or the alcohol talking.

“Well, thank you,” You say, a slight blush forming on your cheeks, “Why’re you so glad?” 

“Because I was hoping you’d like to catch up, you know, before we all go our separate ways.” And damnit, there it was again. It’s as if you can never escape it.

You slowly nod your head though, because you long for this; you’ve missed George so much. And you watch as his grin widens when you nod your head and he grabs a drink from the counter and pushes it into your hands before motioning for you to follow him.

And you do. You follow him as he pushes through the crowd of the first floor, you follow him up the stairs, and you follow him into an empty bedroom, where he stumbles over to unlock and open the window before taking a seat on a chair that was place in front of the bed.

“I hope you don’t mind, it’s just too fucking loud down there,” He laughs, and you slowly shake your head no as you take a seat on the bed. “So, Y/N? What’ve you been up to? What are your plans for after high school?” George asks you.

And you want to tell him how you’ve been missing and longing for him over the past years, but instead you go on about how you’ve joined the photography club your freshman year and have been in there ever since, and how you plan to go to a college an hour away from home to attend their photography program. You watch him listen and nod his head, and it seems as if he actually... cared.

And then it fell into a silence for a moment before George finally spoke up: “I’ve really missed you, Y/N.” And when he said that, the whole feeling in the room seemed to change. Your eyes locked onto George’s and you find yourself whispering, “I’ve really missed you, too, George..”

And now he’s standing from the chair, sitting his drink down on the desk, and making his way over to where you’re seated on the bed. He’s now standing in front of you, eyes glimmering and filled with... lust? Passion? Alcohol? You couldn’t put a name on it before he’s pressing you back onto the bed and joining you on the soft mattress.

You find yourself staring up at him, except this time you take in how beautiful this man was. His whiskey brown eyes that had a light to them, along with the dozens of light freckles that dusted his nose and cheeks, and the way his mouth was slightly gaped open, and the way that he smelt of a mixture of alcohol and musky cologne. 

————— SMUT STARTS HERE!  —————

You feel his hand push a strand of your hair out from in front of your face before he’s leaning down and pressing his lips to yours. It started off curiously; the two of your lips moving slowly together before George presses in; deepening the kiss and his hands moving to feel more of your body.

When he pulls away, it’s only to take a breath and ask you, “Is this okay?” He sounded like the George you used to know—always caring and not overstepping any boundaries. All you could do was nod, however, as it felt like your voice was stuck in your throat. Is this a dream? There’s no way this is happening. Your skin felt so hot wherever his hands touched, but it felt so good.

And you feel George shift and you watch as he adjusts so that he’s sitting up; hands moving from your body to quickly to slip his shirt off over his head. Your mouth falls open into an ‘o’ shape as you examine his naked torso sefishly, and you can’t help but run your hands down his chest; stopping only once your fingertips hit the top of his trousers.

A smirk play on the boy’s pink lips as he reaches down to slide your own shirt off; his eyes landing on your chest as he drops your shirt to the ground. You feel his hands move to caress your breasts in them; his thumbs brushing over the hardening nubs of your nipples. You couldn’t hold back the soft moan at the feeling and you visably watched George’s eyes darken at the sound.

“Holy shit, I want to hear that again,” George breathes out, leaning down to press kisses down your jawline and neck until he reaches your collarbone; nipping at the skin there to leave his marks.

You feel him press himself down between your thighs, and you could feel how aroused he was through the leggings you decided to wear to attend the party. As George continues to mark up your skin, you slowly run your hand down and between your two bodies to cup his half-hard cock in your hand, rubbing it through his trousers.

A low moan escapes his lips and vibrates against your neck as he does so, and George finally pulls away and scooches back on the bed to be able to pull your leggings off, as well as your panties, to leave you fully exposed. You watch his eyes look you up and down and up again, for the second time that night, but this time it was in a whole new light.

“Jesus, you’re beautiful,” He breathes out as his eyes continue to examine your naked body. He places his hands on your inner thighs to push them apart, and he makes eye contact with you before dipping his head down to drag his tongue between the folds of your pussy. You clamp your thighs against his head at the feeling, carding a hand through his hair to grip his hair and give it a tug. The boy begins to lick and suck at your pussy before pressing his tongue inside of you, pressing his face in as close as possible to ensure his tongue is as far as it will go.

“George..” You moan brokenly, your eyes fluttering shut as he continues to eat you out. He then slowly pulls away after a few moments, lips coated with his spit and your juices.

“I can’t wait anymore, you look too beautiful,” He breathes out, wiping his mouth with the back of his wrist before removing his own trousers and underwear. You take this sight of George in: You’ve never seen him in this light, and you never thought you ever would. You were about to thank him for his words, but before you could do so, you feel his fingers being placed between your folds and you gasp at the touch, another moan escaping your lips. 

George begins rubbing your clit slowly; massaging the nub for a moment before he presses a long finger inside you, slowly pumping it in and out before adding another. You can’t help but moan every time his fingers hit just the right spot every time he presses them in, and you watch as he spits down onto his dick before beginning to pump his own dick. You bite your lip roughly before pushing his hand away from himself and replacing it with your own, and you relish in the moan George lets out as you begin to jerk him off.

And, of course, right as you’re about to reach an orgasm, George’s fingers stop moving and he removes them; licking up your juices as he holds eye contact with you.

He then remove your hand from his dick, staring down at you with darkened, lustful brown eyes as he asks you one more time, “Is this okay?”

And you nod, because you don’t think you could ever resist this. You’re hands find their way to George’s hair; fingers curling in the soft, yet sweaty, locks and pulling his head down to yours again. This time you’re the one to kiss with the passion and hunger, your legs hooking around his hips as you try to draw him in.

Your lips part ever so slightly as you feel George’s hand slide between your two bodies to grip his dick once again, but this time to guide it inside of you. You couldn’t hold back the moan of George’s name as he slowly pressed himself inside you, and your hands began to rake your fingernails down his back.

“Jesus, Y/N,” George breathes lowly as he finally presses all the way inside. Suddenly, the two of you weren’t people going their separate ways anymore, but now were as close as two people can get.

You feel his lips back on your neck as he slowly begins to form a rhythm of thrusting in and out of you. It feels so good, you think, and when he began picking up speed with his thrusts, you began to let go.

“Oh, fuck, George!” You moan out, louder this time, and he moves so he can grip the headboard above your head to help him be able to fuck you harder and faster. You roughly drag your nails down his back, leaving your own marks on his pale skin, as you moan with every thrust.

“You’re such a good girl for me, Y/N,” He grunts out, looking down at you. He was roughly biting at his bottom lip, sweat dripping down his forehead and chest. “Such a good baby,”

It didn’t take long before that pooling feeling began to form in your lower stomach again, and with one last more of his thrusts that hit just the right spot, your back arched up as you screamed his name; your orgasm finally hitting and your hands moving up to pull at his hair again.

This only made George fuck you harder; thrusts slowly but hips snapping up against your own as he moaned out, “I’m gonna cum, baby,” And with one last jerk of his hips and his cock buried deep inside you; he came with a moan of your name.

All that could be heard was the sound of both of your heavy breathing, the music from the party disoriented in the background. George then began to slowly pull out of you, eyes on your pussy as he watches his own cum ooze out of you. He smirked at the sight, leaning down to capture your lips with his own one last time before he was standing up and telling you, “I’m going to get you a cloth,” before disappearing into what you presumed was an attatched bathroom.

And after a couple minutes, George returned with a wash cloth and helped you clean yourself up. Your thighs were shaking with overstimulation as he also helped you dress yourself, and one he was fully dressed himself, he found his way back onto the bed to lay down next to you.

You couldn’t tell if he was still drunk, but he offered you a sober-looking smile before reaching a hand out to push the hair out of your face once again before pulling you close again. And in this moment, it felt like as if he never left your side; as if he’s been around the whole time. And it was unspoken, but both of you knew there was a lot to talk about after this night was over and you both we completely sober. Like the topic that George didn’t think to use protection.

FIN